''Astérix'' or A-1 (initially conceptualized as FR.2 or FR-2) is the first French

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

. It was launched on 26 November 1965 by a Diamant A rocket from the CIEES launch site at Hammaguir,

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. With ''Astérix'', France became the sixth country to have an artificial satellite and the third country to launch a satellite on its own rocket. Its main purpose was to test the Diamant launcher, though it was also designed to study the

ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays ...

. ''Astérix'' continues to orbit Earth as of 2023 and is expected to remain in orbit for centuries.

Background

The French space agencies

Centre national d'études spatiales CNES () is the French national space agency. Headquartered in central Paris, the agency is overseen by the ministries of the Ministry of Armed Forces (France), Armed Forces, Ministry of Economics and Finance (France), Economy and Finance and Min ...

(CNES) and Centre national d'études des télécommunications (CNET) were developing ''Astérix'' concurrent with FR-1, another satellite, as early as 1963. FR-1 was the first step of an ambitious French plan to launch six FR-series satellites, each meant to study a different aspect of the

Earth's atmosphere The atmosphere of Earth is composed of a layer of gas mixture that surrounds the Earth's planetary surface (both lands and oceans), known collectively as air, with variable quantities of suspended aerosols and particulates (which create weathe ...

. FR-1 was generally designed to study the Earth's magnetic and electric fields in the

and

magnetosphere In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. It is created by a celestial body with an active interior Dynamo ...

. ''Astérix'', ultimately France's first satellite, was initially conceptualized as the second FR satellite under the name FR-2. Like FR-1, FR-2 would study the ionosphere. FR-3 was to be a "scaled-up" version of FR-2, with FR-4 to carry instruments measuring

hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

distribution in the

upper atmosphere Upper atmosphere is a collective term that refers to various layers of the atmosphere of the Earth above the troposphere and corresponding regions of the atmospheres of other planets, and includes: * The mesosphere, which on Earth lies between th ...

, FR-5 to study "magnetic impulses" and serve as a platform for future research, and FR-6 to be a solar-stabilized spacecraft with final

payload Payload is the object or the entity that is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of t ...

to be determined based on experimental results from its antecedents. Initial plans called for a late 1964 or early 1965 launch of FR-1, with ''Astérixs launch scheduled for early 1965. It appears ''Astérix'' was put into orbit prior to FR-1 because

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

and CNES wanted France to become the third space power by launching an independently-developed satellite on a French launcher, a

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

coup for French exceptionalism during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

Spacecraft design

France managed to design, construct, and launch ''Astérix'' and FR-1 relatively quickly thanks to three related factors: postwar knowledge gained from

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

scientists and their work on the

V-2 rocket The V2 (), with the technical name ''Aggregat (rocket family), Aggregat-4'' (A4), was the world's first long-range missile guidance, guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the S ...

; France's independent development of nuclear

IRBM An intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range between (), categorized between a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) and an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Classifying ballistic missiles by ran ...

launchers including the Saphir rocket, a precursor to Diamant; and France's collaborative civilian research with the United States (through

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

) and other European countries (through

CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in Meyrin, western suburb of Gene ...

and

ESRO The European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) was an international organisation founded by 10 European nations with the intention of jointly pursuing scientific research in space. It was founded in 1964. As an organisation ESRO was based on a ...

). Measuring approximately in diameter and 55 centimetres high, ''Astérixs exterior casing is made of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

and resembles a

top Top most commonly refers to: * Top, a basic term of orientation, distinguished from bottom, front, back, and sides * Spinning top, a ubiquitous traditional toy * Top (clothing), clothing designed to be worn over the torso * Mountain top, a moun ...

. Its black stripes purportedly provide

passive Passive may refer to: * Passive voice, a grammatical voice common in many languages, see also Pseudopassive * Passive language, a language from which an interpreter works * Passivity (behavior), the condition of submitting to the influence of ...

solar gain Solar gain (also known as solar heat gain or passive solar gain) is the increase in thermal energy of a space, object or structure as it absorbs incident solar radiation. The amount of solar gain a space experiences is a function of the total i ...

. Equipped with

accelerometer An accelerometer is a device that measures the proper acceleration of an object. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change (mathematics), rate of change of velocity) of the object relative to an observer who is in free fall (tha ...

s measuring vertical and horizontal movement and angular

velocity Velocity is a measurement of speed in a certain direction of motion. It is a fundamental concept in kinematics, the branch of classical mechanics that describes the motion of physical objects. Velocity is a vector (geometry), vector Physical q ...

, a

radio beacon In navigation, a radio beacon or radiobeacon is a kind of beacon, a device that marks a fixed location and allows direction finding, direction-finding equipment to find relative Bearing (navigation), bearing. But instead of employing visible lig ...

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

transponder In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...

thermometer A thermometer is a device that measures temperature (the hotness or coldness of an object) or temperature gradient (the rates of change of temperature in space). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb ...

, and

telemetry Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', 'far off', an ...

transmitters, the satellite was designed to report its position back to Earth. It is unclear whether ''Astérix'' was capable of making

ionospheric The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays ...

measurements as originally planned. The satellite was originally designated A-1, as the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

's first satellite, but later renamed by the press after popular

French comics French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

character

Astérix ''Asterix'' ( or , "Asterix the Gaul"; also known as ''Asterix and Obelix'' in some adaptations or ''The Adventures of Asterix'') is a French comic album series about a Gaulish village which, thanks to a magic potion that enhances strength ...

. The names ''Zébulon'' and ''Zebby'', after another cartoon character from the French children's television program '' Le Manège enchanté'', were also considered.

Specifications

* Weight: *

Perigee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. The line of apsides (also called apse line, or major axis of the orbit) is the line connecting the two extreme values. Apsides perta ...

: *

Apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. The line of apsides (also called apse line, or major axis of the orbit) is the line connecting the two extreme values. Apsides perta ...

: *

Inclination Orbital inclination measures the tilt of an object's orbit around a celestial body. It is expressed as the angle between a reference plane and the orbital plane or axis of direction of the orbiting object. For a satellite orbiting the Eart ...

: 34.3 degrees *

Orbital period The orbital period (also revolution period) is the amount of time a given astronomical object takes to complete one orbit around another object. In astronomy, it usually applies to planets or asteroids orbiting the Sun, moons orbiting planets ...

: 107.5 minutes

Mission and results

France carried out two

suborbital A sub-orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches outer space, but its trajectory intersects the surface of the gravitating body from which it was launched. Hence, it will not complete one orbital revolution, will no ...

''Astérix'' prototype flights on 31 May and 3 June 1965 using Rubis rockets from the CIEES launch complex Bacchus at Hammaguir,

. ''Astérix'' was launched on 26 November 1965 by a Diamant A rocket from the CIEES launch complex Brigitte/A at Hammaguir. The Diamant launcher measured tall and weighed , and was filled with a mix of

turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthine, terebenthene, terebinthine and, colloquially, turps) is a fluid obtainable by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Principall ...

and

nitric acid Nitric acid is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but samples tend to acquire a yellow cast over time due to decomposition into nitrogen oxide, oxides of nitrogen. Most com ...

fuel. The

payload fairing A payload fairing or nose fairing is a nose cone used to protect a launch vehicle, spacecraft payload (air and space craft), payload against the impact of dynamic pressure and aerodynamic heating during launch through an atmosphere. An additiona ...

ejected from the rocket ten minutes after launch, during which the satellite's telemetry equipment was damaged. Depending on the source, due to this damage ''Astérix'' either failed to transmit any signals, or stopped transmitting them after two days or 111 days. Nevertheless, American radar scans confirmed the satellite successfully entered orbit.

Legacy and status

With ''Astérix'', France became the sixth country to have an artificial satellite in orbit after the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(''

Sputnik 1 Sputnik 1 (, , ''Satellite 1''), sometimes referred to as simply Sputnik, was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program ...

'', 1957), the United States (''

Explorer 1 Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the United States in 1958 and was part of the U.S. participation in the International Geophysical Year (IGY). The mission followed the first two satellites, both launched by the Soviet Union duri ...

'', 1958), the United Kingdom (''

Ariel 1 Ariel 1 (also known as UK-1 and S-55), was the first British-American satellite, and the first satellite in the Ariel programme. Its launch in 1962 made the United Kingdom the third country to operate a satellite, after the Soviet Union and the Un ...

'', 1962), Canada (''

Alouette 1 ''Alouette 1'' is a deactivated Canadian satellite that studied the ionosphere. Launched in 1962, it was Canada's first satellite, and the first satellite constructed by a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States. Canada was ...

'', 1962), and Italy ('' San Marco 1'', 1964). France also became the third country after the USSR and US to launch a satellite on its own rocket: the British, Canadian, and Italian satellites were launched on American rockets. ''Astérix'' remains in orbit as of 2024. Due to the relatively high altitude of its orbit, it is not expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere for several centuries. The

Musée de l'air et de l'espace The Musée de l'air et de l'espace (, ) is a French aerospace museum, located at the south-eastern edge of Paris–Le Bourget Airport, north of Paris, and in the Communes of France, commune of Le Bourget. It was inaugurated in 1919 after a propo ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Le Bourget Le Bourget () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The commune features Le Bourget Airport, which in turn hosts the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace (Air and Space Museum). A very ...

displays a prototype of the satellite, while the

Cité de l'espace Cité may refer to: Places * Cité (Paris Métro), the metro station on the ''Île de la Cité'' * Cité (Quebec), type of municipality in Quebec * Citadel, the historical centre of an old city, originally fortified * Housing estate, a group of h ...

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

displays a replica.

References

External links

Free paper model of ''Astérix'' satellite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asterix (Satellite) Satellites of France Satellites orbiting Earth Spacecraft launched in 1965 First artificial satellites of a country Asterix CNES