Émeraude (rocket)

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The VE 121 Émeraude was a French experimental rocket . It was a liquid rocket based on the experience with the Véronique and Vesta rockets and fueled by nitric acid and turpentine .

The Emeraude was 17.93 m long and had a diameter of 1.40 m. It could carry a payload of 395 kg to a height of 200 km. The launch mass of the Émeraude was 18.2 t and the launch thrust 275 kN. It was equipped with a swiveling nozzle for control. The rocket was single-stage, but carried a dummy topaze as ballast to study the aerodynamics of a two-stage rocket.

The Emeraude was launched five times in 1964/65 from the Brigitte launch pad in Hammaguir , Algeria . The first three attempts failed because sloshing fuel in the tanks created a pogo effect . The two successful launches on February 27, 1965 and May 13, 1965 reached an altitude of 200 km.

The first stage was later also used in the sapphire and diamond rockets .

The Emeraude was part of the French VE program (véhicule expérimental) for the development of air, silo or submarine-based ICBMs and the development of launch vehicles , which also includes the VE8 , VE9 , VE10 Aigle , VE110 Agate , VE111 Topaze , VE 210 Rubis and VE231 Saphir were included. These rockets were developed from 1959 on de Gaulle's instructions by the company SEREB (Société pour l'étude et la réalisation d'engins balistiques) founded in September 1959 .

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