Ariane is a series of European civilian expendable launch vehicles for space launch use. The name comes from the French spelling of the mythological character Ariadne. France first proposed the Ariane project and it was officially agreed upon at the end of 1973 after discussions between France,Germany and the UK. The project was Western Europe's second attempt at developing its own launcher following the unsuccessful Europa project. The Ariane project was code-named L3S.
The Europa rocket was an early expendable launch system of the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO),which was the precursor to the European Space Agency (ESA). It was developed with the aim to delivering space access technology,and more specifically to facilitate the deployment of European-wide telecommunication and meteorological satellites into orbit.
The Diamant rocket was the first exclusively French expendable launch system and at the same time the first satellite launcher not built by either the United States or USSR. As such,it has been referred to as being a key predecessor for all subsequent European launcher projects. The head of the project,Charley Attali,received the Legion of Honour in 1965 for the Diamant.
VE 110 Agate is the designation of an unguided French test rocket developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Topaze is the designation of a French sounding rocket. The Topaze was developed by several French companies,notably Nord Aviation and Sud Aviation,and built by SEREB and was the first guidable French sounding rocket.
VE 231 Saphir was a French two stage sounding rocket.
Cora was a French experimental rocket. It was the largest rocket ever launched in Western Europe. It was primarily used for testing the second (Coralie) and third stages (Astris) of the multinational Europa Rocket,which was developed and produced by the European Launcher Development Organisation,the predecessor to the present day European Space Agency.
S-Series is a fleet of sounding rockets funded by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) that have been in service since the late 1960s. Manufactured by IHI Aerospace and operated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). The nomenclature of the S-Series rockets is the number of "S"s indicates the number of stages,and the following number details the diameter of the craft in millimeters. For example,the S-310 is a single stage rocket with a diameter of 310 mm.
The Aggregat series was a set of ballistic missile designs developed in 1933–1945 by a research program of Nazi Germany's Army (Heer). Its greatest success was the A4,more commonly known as the V2.
Astérix or A-1 is the first French satellite. It was launched on 26 November 1965 by a Diamant A rocket from the CIEES launch site at Hammaguir,Algeria. 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. Astérix continues to orbit Earth as of 2023 and is expected to remain in orbit for centuries.
GSAT-4,also known as HealthSat,was an experimental communication and navigation satellite launched in April 2010 by the Indian Space Research Organisation on the maiden flight of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk.II rocket. It failed to reach orbit after the rocket's third stage malfunctioned. The third stage was the first Indian-built cryogenic-fuelled upper stage,and was making its first flight. The ISRO suspects that the failure was caused by the third stage not igniting.
The Delta 1000 series was an American expendable launch system which was used to conduct eight orbital launches between 1972 and 1975. It was a member of the Delta family of rockets. Several variants existed,differentiated by a four digit numerical code. Delta 1000 was developed by McDonnell Douglas company in 1972.
The Vostok-2,GRAU index 8A92 was an expendable carrier rocket used by the Soviet Union between 1962 and 1967. Forty five were launched,of which five failed. It was derived from the earlier Vostok-K,with uprated engines. It was a member of the Vostok family of rockets.
Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch system operated by Arianespace and developed and produced by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). It replaces Ariane 5,as part of the Ariane launch vehicle family.
The Blok DM-03,GRAU index 11S861-03,is a Russian upper stage used as an optional fourth stage on the Proton-M and Angara A5 heavy-lift rockets. Three have been launched,the first in December 2010;the first two launches failed before fourth stage ignition,the first as a result of a problem with the Blok DM's fuel load. Some versions are also known as Orion.
Liquid Fly-back Booster (LFBB) was a German Aerospace Center's (DLR's) project concept to develop a liquid rocket booster capable of reuse for Ariane 1 in order to significantly reduce the high cost of space transportation and increase environmental friendliness. lrb would replace the existing liquid rocket boosters,providing main thrust during the countdown. Once separated,two winged boosters would perform an atmospheric entry,go back autonomously to the French Guiana,and land horizontally on the airport like an aeroplane.
LandSpace Technology Corporation is a Chinese commercial space launch provider based in Beijing. It was founded in 2015 by Zhang Changwu.
The Centre Interarmées d'Essais d'Engins Spéciaux was France's first space launch and ballistic missile testing facility. Outside France,the facility is often referred to by the name of the nearest town,Hammaguir. It was established on 24 April 1947,by ministerial decree as the Special Weapons Test Center for use by the French Army. In 1948,it was turned over to the French Air Force,who renamed it CIEES. Its remote location in the middle of the Saharan Desert and its relative closeness to the Equator made it an attractive launch site for missiles and orbital rockets.
VE 121 Émeraude was a large French sounding rocket of the 1960s.
The French submarine Diamant was a Saphir-class submarine built for the French Navy in the mid-1930s. Laid down in July 1930,it was launched in May 1933 and commissioned in June 1934. Diamant was scuttled at Toulon on 27 November 1942 to prevent her capture by German forces,then refloated by Italian forces on 29 March 1943. On 22 June 1944,Diamant was bombed and sunk at Toulon by Allied aircraft.
