Agate
Test vehicle. Year: 1961. Family: Precious stone. Country: France. Other Designations: VE110.

The Agate was the first of the 'precious stone' series of French rockets leading to the Diamant satellite launcher. The single-stage vehicle used the NA801 Mammouth solid propellant rocket developed originally for the SSBT program. The purpose of the fin-stabilised unguided rocket was to test the recoverable instrument pod planned for later missile tests. The Agate R / VE110RR version was used to develop recovery procedures at sea.

Manufacturer: SEREB. Launches: 12. Failures: 1. Success Rate: 91.67%. First Launch Date: 1961-06-03. Last Launch Date: 1964-04-20. Launch data is: complete. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). Liftoff Thrust: 186.000 kN (41,814 lbf). Total Mass: 3,200 kg (7,000 lb). Core Diameter: 0.80 m (2.62 ft). Total Length: 8.50 m (27.80 ft).

Agate Chronology

1961 June 3 - Launch Site: Hammaguira. Launch Complex: Bacchus. Launch Vehicle: Agate.

  • Test mission Nation: France. Agency: ONERA. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 1818.
1961 June 7 - Launch Site: Hammaguira. Launch Complex: Bacchus. Launch Vehicle: Agate.
  • Test mission Nation: France. Agency: ONERA. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 1818.
1961 November 13 - Launch Site: Hammaguira. Launch Complex: Bacchus. Launch Vehicle: Agate.
  • Test mission Nation: France. Agency: ONERA. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 1818.
1961 November 17 - Launch Site: Hammaguira. Launch Complex: Bacchus. Launch Vehicle: Agate.
  • Test mission Nation: France. Agency: ONERA. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 1818.
1962 March 19 - Launch Site: Hammaguira. Launch Complex: Bacchus. Launch Vehicle: Agate.
  • Test mission Nation: France. Agency: ONERA. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 1818.
1962 March 23 - Launch Site: Hammaguira. Launch Complex: Bacchus. Launch Vehicle: Agate.
  • Test mission Nation: France. Agency: ONERA. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 1818.
1963 May 18 - Launch Site: Hammaguira. Launch Complex: Brigitte. Launch Vehicle: Agate.
  • Test mission Nation: France. Agency: ONERA. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 1818.
1963 May 21 - Launch Site: Hammaguira. Launch Complex: Brigitte. Launch Vehicle: Agate.
  • Test mission Nation: France. Agency: ONERA. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 1818.
1963 November 19 - Launch Site: Ile du Levant. Launch Vehicle: Agate. LV Configuration: Agate R. FAILURE: Failure.
  • Test mission Nation: France. Agency: ONERA. References: 1818.
1963 November 28 - Launch Site: Ile du Levant. Launch Vehicle: Agate. LV Configuration: Agate R.
  • Test mission Nation: France. Agency: ONERA. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 1818.
1964 February 28 - Launch Site: Ile du Levant. Launch Vehicle: Agate. LV Configuration: Agate R.
  • Test mission Nation: France. Agency: ONERA. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 1818.
1964 April 20 - Launch Site: Ile du Levant. Launch Vehicle: Agate. LV Configuration: Agate R.
  • Test mission Nation: France. Agency: ONERA. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). References: 1818.
Bibliography and Further Reading
  • McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page, Harvard University, 1997-present. Jonathan McDowell's complete on-line listing of all objects orbited and over 20,000 rocket launches Accessed at: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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