Sonda ("Probe" in English) is a family of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian-built

sounding rocket A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are often ...

s which serves as an R&D path to the VLS () orbital rocket. Launches started in 1965 and continue to this day. Launch sites include

Wallops Island Wallops Island is a island in Accomack County, Virginia, part of the Virginia Barrier Islands that stretch along the eastern seaboard of the United States. It is just south of Chincoteague Island, a popular tourist destination. Wallops Isla ...

, Andoya,

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, Alcântara,

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and SvalRak.

Sonda I

The Sonda I is a two

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rocket (S10-1 & S-10-2 rocket stages) with a maximum flight altitude of 65 km, a liftoff thrust of 27 kN a total mass of 100 kg, a diameter of 11 cm and a length of 4.5 metres. It was launched 9 times between 1965 and 1966. File:Sonda I dimensions (rotated).jpg, link=, Diagram with Sonda I rocket dimensions File:Sonda I-01.jpg, link=, Sonda I on display File:At Memorial Aeroespacial Brasileiro 2019 065.jpg, link=, Sonda 1 (right) at Memorial Aeroespacial Brasileiro

Sonda II

The Sonda II is a single

rocket (S-20 rocket stage) with a maximum flight altitude of 180 km, a liftoff thrust of 36 kN, a total mass of 400 kg, a core diameter of 0.30 m and a total length of 5.60 m. It was launched 7 times between 1990 and 1996. File:Sonda II dimensions (rotated).jpg, link=, Diagram with Sonda II rocket dimensions File:At Memorial Aeroespacial Brasileiro 2019 004.jpg, link=, Sonda II at Memorial Aeroespacial Brasileiro File:At Memorial Aeroespacial Brasileiro 2019 063.jpg, link=, Sonda II at Memorial Aeroespacial Brasileiro File:Sonda II-01.jpg, link=, Sonda II on display File:Foguete Sonda II-01.jpg, link=, Sonda II on display File:Sonda 2 Parque Santos Dumont 2017 019 (cropped).jpg, Sonda II at Parque Santos Dumont

Sonda III

Sonda III is a two

rocket available in three versions, the Sonda III (S30 & S-20 rocket stages), the Sonda III M1 (S30 & S-23 rocket stages) and the Sonda IIIA (S30 & S33 rocket stages). The first two versions rockets have a maximum flight altitude of 600 km, a liftoff thrust of 102 kN, a diameter of 0.30 m and a length of 8 m. However Sonda III weighs 1500 kg while Sonda III M1 weighs 1400 kg at launch. It was launched 27 times between 1976 and 2002. File:Sonda III dimensions (rotated).jpg, link=, Diagram with Sonda III rocket dimensions File:Brazilian Sonda III rocket shapes.jpg, link=, Sonda III rocket variations File:At Memorial Aeroespacial Brasileiro 2019 007.jpg, link=, Sonda III at Memorial Aeroespacial Brasileiro File:At Memorial Aeroespacial Brasileiro 2019 061.jpg, link=, Sonda III at Memorial Aeroespacial Brasileiro File:Foguete Barreira do Inferno.jpg, link=, Sonda III at Barreira do Inferno File:Foguete Sonda III-02.jpg, link=, Sonda III on display File:Sonda 3 Parque Santos Dumont 2017 021 (cropped).jpg, Sonda III at Parque Santos Dumont

Sonda IV

Sonda IV is a two

rocket (S30 & S-43 rocket stages) with a maximum flight altitude of 800 km, a liftoff thrust of 203.00 kN, a total mass of 7200 kg, a diameter of 1.01 m and a length of 11 m. It was launched 7 times between 1984 and 1990. File:Sonda IV dimensions (rotated).jpg, link=, Diagram with Sonda IV rocket dimensions File:At Memorial Aeroespacial Brasileiro 2019 009.jpg, link=, Sonda IV at Memorial Aeroespacial Brasileiro File:At Memorial Aeroespacial Brasileiro 2019 059.jpg, link=, Sonda IV at Memorial Aeroespacial Brasileiro File:Sonda IV (cropped).jpg, link=, Sonda IV on display File:Foguete Sonda IV-02.jpg, Sonda IV on display File:Sonda 4 Parque Santos Dumont 2017 005 (cropped).jpg, Sonda IV at Parque Santos Dumont File:Foguete Sonda IV-03.jpg, Sonda IV on pad

References

External links

The Brazilian Sounding Rocket VSB-30: meeting the Brazilian Space Program and COPUOS objectives

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonda Sounding rockets of Brazil Rockets and missiles Space program of Brazil