Agate
Agate VE 110
FunctionSounding rocket
ManufacturerSEREB
Country of originFrance
Size
Height8.50 metres (27.9 ft)
Diameter0.80 metres (2.6 ft)
Mass3,200 kilograms (7,100 lb)
Stages1
Associated rockets
Derivative workRubis, Diamant
Launch history
StatusRetired
Launch sitesCIEES/CERES Ile du Levant
Total launches12
Success(es)11
Failure(s)1
First flightJune 3, 1961
Last flightApril 20, 1964
First stage
Powered byNA801 Mammouth
Maximum thrust186 kilonewtons (42,000 lbf)
PropellantSolid

VE 110 Agate is the designation of an unguided French test rocket developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s.[1][2][3]

It was part of the Pierres précieuses (fr.: gemstones) program, that included five prototypes Agathe, Topaze, Emeraude, Rubis and Saphir,[3] leading up to the Diamant orbital rocket.

The Agate has a length of 8.50 metres, a diameter of 0.80 metres, a start mass of 3.2 tonnes, a takeoff thrust of 186 kN and a ceiling of 20 km. It used a NA801 Mammouth solid propellant rocket engine (same as the Rubis VE-210).[2]

The initial version was designated VE (Véhicule Expérimental) 110,[1][3] while the VE 110RR version was used to develop recovery procedures at sea.[2][3] The name indicates that it is a "Véhicule Expérimental" (Experimental Vehicle) with 1 stage, using solid propulsion (code 1), and not guided (code 0).

Launches

The Agate was launched from the CIEES test site in Hammaguir, French Algeria, and the Île du Levant test site,[2] in order to test instrument capsules and recovery systems.[3]

Date Launch Site Launch Complex Mission Description Apogee (km)
1961 June 3 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Test mission 20
1961 June 7 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Test mission 20
1961 Nov 13 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Test mission 20
1961 Nov 17 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Test mission 20
1962 Mar 19 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Test mission 20
1962 Mar 23 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Test mission 20
1963 May 18 Hammaguira Hammaguira Brigitte Test mission 20
1963 May 21 Hammaguira Hammaguira Brigitte Test mission 20
1963 Nov 19 Île du Levant CERES Failure 0
1963 Nov 28 Ile du Levant CERES Test mission 20
1964 Feb 28 Ile du Levant CERES Test mission 20
1964 Apr 20 Ile du Levant CERES Test mission 20

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Agate (VE-110)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Wade, Mark (2019). "Agate". Encyclopedia Astronautica.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Capdevila, Didier. "Les Constellations et les Pierres Précieuses". Capcom Espace. Retrieved 2023-08-29.


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