Agate
VE110 Agate was the name of a French experimental rocket in the early to mid- 1960s (June 3, 1961 to April 20, 1964). The Agate has a length of 8.5 meters, a diameter of 0.80 meters, a launch mass of 3.2 tons, a launch thrust of 186 kN and a peak height of 20 km. The Agate was launched from Hammaguir and the Ile de Levant to test instrument capsules and recovery systems (Agate R / VE110RR). The Agate was uncontrolled and the starting point for the development of the Diamant rocket . A NA801 Mammouth was used as the basis.
It was part of the French VE (Vehicles Experimental) program for the development of air, silo or submarine based ICBM , which also included the VE8 , VE9 , VA10 Aigle , VE111 Topaze , VE121 Emeraude , VE210 Rubis and the VE231 Saphir . 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.
See also : List of missile types
Web links
- Agate in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (English)
- Jean-Jacques Serra: The Precious Stones