Shaba North

Last updated • 1 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Shaba North
Kapani Tonneo
Formation1976
Typerocket launch site
Coordinates 7°55′26″S28°32′10″E / 7.9239844°S 28.5360758°E / -7.9239844; 28.5360758
OwnerOTRAG

Shaba North (also mentioned as Kapani Tonneo) [1] [2] was the launch site of the first rockets launched by Orbital Transport und Raketen AktienGesellschaft, or Orbital Forwarding Company in English ("OTRAG"). [3] [4] [5]

Contents

It is located at the edge of a mesa in Shaba (now Katanga province), the Democratic Republic of Congo. [6] In 1976 Luvua Airport was built to supply the site. [7] [8] [9]

In 1977 and in 1978 three test flights of OTRAG rockets were launched from Shaba North. [1] [10]

In 1979 OTRAG stopped launching rockets from Shaba North for political reasons. [2] Its launching activities were later moved to Sabha, Libya.

Launches

Three test flights were launched from Shaba North. [1]

Date OTRAG version ApogeeDetails
1977 May 184x9m15 kmFour-module test vehicle, 6 m long; propulsion test
1978 May 194x9m30 kmFour-module test vehicle, 6 m long; high altitude night test
1978 Jun 54x15m0Lost control and crashed in seconds

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Grahn, Sven. "OTRAG". www.svengrahn.pp.se. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  2. 1 2 "Kapani Tonneo". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  3. "Shaba North". Encyclopedia Astronautica. 2005-04-12. Archived from the original on 12 April 2005. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  4. Serra, Jean-Jacques (2005-02-07). "OTRAG". Rockets in Europe. Archived from the original on 7 February 2005. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  5. Pirard, Theo (1997-06-01). "German rockets in africa: The explosive heritage of peenemunde". Acta Astronautica. 40 (12): 885–898. Bibcode:1997AcAau..40..885P. doi:10.1016/S0094-5765(97)00183-5. ISSN   0094-5765.
  6. Loffman, Reuben (2014). "An obscured revolution? USAID, the North Shaba Project, and the Zaïrian administration, 1976-1986". Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne des Études Africaines. 48 (3): 425–444. doi:10.1080/00083968.2014.943135. ISSN   0008-3968. JSTOR   43860519.
  7. Leitenberger, Bernd. "OTRAG Rakete" . Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  8. "Dann wäre Deutschland führend in der Welt". Der Spiegel. No. 33/1978. 1978-08-13. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  9. Schwehm, Oliver (director) (September 27, 2018). Fly Rocket Fly (Motion picture). Germany.
  10. Grahn, Sven. "OTRAG at Esrange". www.svengrahn.pp.se. Retrieved 2024-11-28.