Alfa Centauro was a single-stage rocket, launched in 1961 from Santo Tomás base.
Beta Centauro followed the same year, demonstrating two-stage capability and leading to advancements in payload delivery and high altitude measurements. Further launches from Santo Tomás and CELPA Chamical refined rocketry techniques. Notably, the "sodium cloud" operation in 1963 provided valuable atmospheric data.
The Gamma Centauro, also a two-stage vehicle, was tested after 1964, notably from Antarctica.[4]
Alfa Centauro
Alfa Centauro first launch (APEX A1-02)
Alfa Centauro measured 2.7m in length and 101mm in diameter (at the warhead), with a total maximum weight of 28kg and only 3.3kg of payload. The solid fuel used consisted of a mix of nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin and additives.[1]
Main characteristics of the Alfa Centauro sounding rocket were:[1]
Built entirely in Argentina and under the control of the Argentine Air Force, the first launch took place on February 2, 1961,[6][7][8] from the Santo Tomás base in the Achala Pampa in the province of Córdoba.[9][10][11] The rocket was named APEX A1-02 and reached an altitude of 20km.[10][11][12]
Beta Centauro
Beta Centauro diagram
Beta Centauro, a two-stage sounding rocket, had a length of 3,812mm. The first stage (similar to Alfa Centauro) measured 1,769mm with a diameter of 94mm, and the second stage was 1,173mm long with 79.5mm in diameter[5]
Main characteristics of the Beta Centauro sounding rocket were:[5]
Apogee: 25km
Payload: 3.3kg
Length: 3700mm
Launch weight: 47.3kg
Specific impulse: 200s
First stage length: 1769mm
First stage delta-v: 1800kg/sec.
First stage burn time: 1.23s
First stage diameter: 94mm
First stage propellant weight: ~11kg
Second stage length: 1173mm
Second stage delta-v: 900kg/sec.
Second stage burn time: 1s
Second stage diameter: 79.5mm
Second stage propellant weight: ~4.5kg
Beta Centauro was first launched on September 30, 1961. The rocket as designated APEX-A1-S2-015 and aimed to experiment with the separation of the two stages and to test the measurements and instruments of the vehicle: flight speed, range, atmospheric pressure, among other parameters.[13][5] The launch was successful, and the rocket reached an altitude of 25km.[6]
On October 13, 1961, the Aerospace Institute conducted the second launch of the rocket (APEX-A1-S2-016) at the same base.[5][9] Another Centauro rocket was launched on May 10, 1962, coinciding with the start of activities at the CELPA base in Chamical, La Rioja.
On February 19, 1962, five new launches were carried out from the Santo Tomás Base, where the new Scar 2.65 engines were tested for the first time, successfully recovering the capsules with their payloads in all cases, allowing the measurement of the altitude at which the separation occurred.[14]
On November 15, 27, and 30, Centauro rockets were launched, the last two for aeronomy purposes, all three launched from the CELPA Chamical base, La Rioja province.[9] On December 8 and 9, Centauro rockets were launched again, also for aeronomy purposes and with successful results. Throughout that year, the experiments were successful and yielded significant advances, with a total of 18 launches carried out.[9]
On May 25, 1963, the Centauro 35 launch was undertaken for the "sodium cloud" operation, resulting in wind and turbulence measurements, reaching an altitude of 189km.[9]
Experiments with the Beta Centauro allowed for the refinement of payload takeoff and altitude measurements, continuing from 1964 with the Orion sounding rocket.[14]
Gamma Centauro
Gamma Centauro in flightGamma Centauro launch ramp in Antarctica (1964)
Gamma Centauro was a two-stage rocket, with a length of 2.43m and a diameter of 13cm, capable of sending a 5kg payload to an apogee of 59km.[2]
Main characteristics of the Gamma Centauro sounding rocket were:[2][15][16]
Apogee: 59km
Payload: 5kg
Length: 2430mm
Launch weight: 27kg
First stage specific impulse: 225s
First stage length: 800mm
First stage diameter: 130mm
First stage propellant weight: 11kg
Second stage specific impulse: 212s
Second stage length: 1600mm
Second stage diameter: 90mm
Second stage propellant weight: ~4kg
Gamma Centauro was first tested on December 6, 1962.[2] The following year, several tests of models I and II were conducted at CELPA.[17]
On August 27, 1964, the "Operation Inca" mission was carried out in the province of Mendoza (more precisely near the Puente del Inca). During the operation, a vehicle was propelled to an altitude of 35km, and the payload was recovered by parachute. The model served to test the equipment that would later be part of the next project in Antarctica in 1965, including the launch tower and the polyethylene cover with heating that maintained the cabin at a temperature of 25°C.[17]
Gamma Centaur tests continued in February 1965 when, for the first time, two Gamma Centaur rockets were simultaneously launched from the CELPA Experimentation Center, and two others from the Matienzo Base in Antarctica.[2][4][18][19] Two sounding balloons assembled by the National University of Tucumán were also tested, reaching an altitude of 24km.
In this way, Argentina became the third country, after the Soviet Union and the United States, to undertake aerospace activities from Antarctica.[17] The resulting experiences were used to analyze flight and study X-rays in the atmosphere. In August, four tests were carried out with Gamma Centauro rockets from the CELPA base, all successful.[1]
Related Research Articles
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 used to launch instruments from 48 to 145 km above the surface of the Earth, the altitude generally between weather balloons and satellites; the maximum altitude for balloons is about 40 km and the minimum for satellites is approximately 121 km. Certain sounding rockets have an apogee between 1,000 and 1,500 km, such as the Black Brant X and XII, which is the maximum apogee of their class. Sounding rockets often use military surplus rocket motors. NASA routinely flies the Terrier Mk 70 boosted Improved Orion, lifting 270–450-kg (600–1,000-pound) payloads into the exoatmospheric region between 97 and 201 km.
The Black Brant is a family of Canadian-designed sounding rockets originally built by Bristol Aerospace, since absorbed by Magellan Aerospace in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Over 800 Black Brants of various versions have been launched since they were first produced in 1961, and the type remains one of the most popular sounding rockets. They have been repeatedly used by the Canadian Space Agency and NASA.
Little Joe II was an American rocket used from 1963 to 1966 for five uncrewed tests of the Apollo spacecraft launch escape system (LES), and to verify the performance of the command module parachute recovery system in abort mode. It was named after a similar rocket designed for the same function in Project Mercury. Launched from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, it was the smallest of four launch rockets used in the Apollo program.
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The National Space Activities Commission is the civilian agency of the government of Argentina in charge of the national space programme.
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References
1 2 3 4 Parczewski, Juan (2005). "Cohete Alfa Centauro". El sitio de Cohetería Experimental Amateur de Juan Parczewski. Archived from the original on 2012-01-10. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
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