Dragon
Country of originFrance[1]
Applicationhigh altitude research
sounding rocket[2]
Sud-Aviation Belier rocket family.

The Dragon is a two-stage French solid propellant[3] sounding rocket used for high altitude research between 1962 and 1973.[4][5][6][7][8] It belonged thereby to a family of solid-propellant rockets derived from the Bélier, including the Centaure, the Dauphin and the Éridan.[9]

The dragon's first stage was a Stromboli engine (diameter 56 cm) which burned 675 kg of fuel in 16 seconds and so produced a maximum thrust of 88 kN.[9] Versions of the Bélier engine were used as upper stages.[9]

A payload of 30 to 120 kg could be carried on parabolic with apogees between 440 km (270 mi) (Dragon-2B)[6] and 560 km (340 mi)(Dragon-3)[7]

Versions

The Dragon was built in several versions including the Dragon-2B, and Dragon-3:[6][7][9]

Version Stages Gross mass (kg) Height (m) Diameter (m) Apogee (km) Payload (kg)
Dragon Stromboli + Belier I 1157 7.10 0.56 475 60
Dragon-2B Stromboli + Belier II 1200 7 0.56 440
Dragon-3 Stromboli + Belier III 1190 8.16 0.56 560 60

Launches

Dragons have been launched from Andøya, Biscarrosse, Dumont d'Urville, CELPA (El Chamical), CIEES, Kerguelen Islands, Kourou, Salto di Quirra, Sonmiani, Thumba, and Vík í Mýrdal between 1962 and 1973.[5][4][6][7]

Date Launch Site Launch Complex Launch Vehicle Mission Description Nation Agency Apogee (km)
1962 December 5 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Dragon 1 FAILURE: Failure. France CNES 80
1963 April 26 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Dragon 1 FAILURE: Failure. France CNES 58
1963 October 30 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Dragon 1 Test mission France CNES 470
1964 February 10 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Dragon 1 Test mission France CNES 470
1964 April 11 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Dragon 1 FU-104B Probe / Na Aeronomy mission France CNES 400
1964 April 13 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Dragon 1 FU-104B Probe / Na Aeronomy mission France CNES 425
1964 August 1 Vik - Dragon 1 FU-125 ionosphere / particles Aeronomy /ionosphere mission France CNES 440
1964 August 7 Vik - Dragon 1 FU-125 ionosphere / particles Aeronomy /ionosphere mission France CNES 420
1964 December 3 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Dragon 1 FU-103B MPE Ba-11 Aeronomy mission France CNES 390
1965 August 24 Vik - Dragon 1 FU-146 / VLF Aeronomy /ionosphere mission France CNES 440
1965 September 3 Vik - Dragon 1 FU-146 / VLF Aeronomy /ionosphere mission France CNES 451
1965 November 20 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bechar Dragon 1 MPE Ba-16? Aeronomy mission France CNES 404
1966 January 21 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Dragon 1 FU-133 Sodium release Aeronomy mission France CNES 500
1966 May 4 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Dragon 1 FU-130 Lyra alpha Aeronomy / chemical / lyra-alpha spectrometry mission France CNES 440
1966 May 12 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Dragon 1 FU-130 Lyra alpha Aeronomy mission France CNES 464
1966 May 23 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Dragon 1 FU-131 Atomic Hydrogen Aeronomy mission France CNES 460
1966 May 26 Andoya - Dragon 1 FAILURE: Failure. France CNES 230
1966 June 1 Andoya - Dragon 1 FU-153 ionosphere / particles Ionosphere mission France CNES 380
1966 June 14 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Dragon 1 FU-131 Atomic Hydrogen Aeronomy mission France CNES 480
1966 June 15 Hammaguira Hammaguira Bacchus Dragon 1 FU-131 Sodium release Aeronomy mission France CNES 500
1966 June 16 Andoya - Dragon 1 FAILURE: Failure. France CNES 60
1966 October 17 Andoya - Dragon 1 FU-165 Ions / Electric Field Ionosphere mission France CNES 387
1967 January 25 Dumont d'Urville - Dragon 1 FU-145B ionosphere / particles Ionosphere mission France CNES 340
1967 January 28 Dumont d'Urville - Dragon 1 FU-151 ionosphere / particles Ionosphere mission France CNES 310
1967 January 29 Dumont d'Urville - Dragon 1 FU-151 ionosphere / particles Ionosphere mission France CNES 320
1967 January 29 Dumont d'Urville - Dragon 1 FU-151 ionosphere / particles Ionosphere mission France CNES 340
1967 May 5 Sonmiani - Dragon 1 Shahpar-1 test Pakistan SUPARCO 423
1967 October 4 Andoya - Dragon 1 ESRO D34 / 1 Solar x-ray / aeronomy mission Europe ESRO 248
1967 October 7 Andoya - Dragon 1 ESRO D30 / 1 Solar x-ray / aeronomy mission Europe ESRO 233
1967 October 10 Andoya - Dragon 1 FAILURE: Failure. Europe ESRO 1.00
1968 February 14 Biscarosse - Dragon 1 FU-172 Solar Helium Solar ultraviolet mission France CNES 440
1968 March 29 Sonmiani - Dragon 1 Shahpar-2 test Pakistan SUPARCO 420
1968 May 22 Salto di Quirra - Dragon 1 FAILURE: Failure. Europe ESRO 225
1969 March 17 Kourou Kourou ALFS Dragon 1 FU-172 Solar EUV 1 Solar extreme ultraviolet mission France CNES 410
1969 September 20 Thumba - Dragon 1 ISRO 26.01 Ionosphere mission India ISRO 400
1970 May 6 Mar Chiquita - Dragon 1 Electron density Test / plasma / fields mission France CNES 430
1972 December 13 CELPA - Dragon 1 FU-206 Protons / electrons Ionosphere / geocorona mission France CNES 380
1968 March 15 Kerguelen - Dragon 2B FU-171 VLF / Ions Ionosphere mission - France CNES 400
1968 March 27 Kerguelen - Dragon 2B FU-171 VLF / Ions Ionosphere mission - France CNES 400
1968 April 1 Kerguelen - Dragon 2B FU-171 VLF / Ions Ionosphere mission - France CNES 416
1968 November 3 Andoya - Dragon 2B FU-182 Ions / Electric field Ionosphere mission - France CNES 414
1969 February 6 Biscarosse - Dragon 2B FU-180 Mass spectrometer F1 Ionosphere mission - France CNES 430
1969 February 6 Biscarosse - Dragon 2B FU-180 Mass spectrometer F2 Ionosphere mission - France CNES 405
1969 February 6 Biscarosse - Dragon 2B FU-180 Mass spectrometer F3 Ionosphere mission - France CNES 430
1969 February 7 Biscarosse - Dragon 2B FU-180 Mass spectrometer F4 Ionosphere mission - France CNES 413
1969 April 13 Andoya - Dragon 2B FU-182 Ions / Electric field Ionosphere mission - France CNES 399
1969 April 17 Andoya - Dragon 2B FU-190 E field / Barium release Ionosphere / barium release mission - France CNES 329
1972 April 28 Sonmiani - Dragon 2B Shahpar-3 Test / ionosphere mission - Pakistan SUPARCO 400
1968 July 23 Biscarosse Dragon 3 FU-188 Technology test France CNES 562
1969 April 26 Kourou Kourou ALFS Dragon 3 FU-188 Technology test France CNES 410
1969 May 27 Biscarosse Dragon 3 FAILURE France CNES 100
1969 November 18 Biscarosse Dragon 3 FU-192 Plasma Ionosphere mission France CNES 475
1970 October 6 Biscarosse Dragon 3 EIDI-1 Ionosphere mission France CNES 480
1970 October 22 Biscarosse Dragon 3 EIDI-2 Ionosphere mission France CNES 480
1973 February 17 Biscarosse Dragon 3 FU-211 EIDI-3 Ionosphere mission France CNES 460

See also

References

  1. ^ United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (1965). Semiannual Report to the Congress. The Administration.
  2. ^ STAR. NASA, Office of Scientific and Technical Information. 1967.
  3. ^ United States. Department of the Army (1975). Your Army: 200 Years. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  4. ^ a b "Dragon 1". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  5. ^ a b "Overview of rocket launch sites worldwide". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on July 8, 2002. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d "Dragon 2B". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  7. ^ a b c d "Dragon 3". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  8. ^ "France Fires Rocket". The Gazette. Montreal, QC. Reuters. April 2, 1968. p. 2. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  9. ^ a b c d "Dragon". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-07-30.


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