Agate (rocket)

Agate

Agate VE 110
Function	Sounding rocket
Manufacturer	SEREB
Country of origin	France
Size
Height	8.50 metres (27.9 ft)
Diameter	0.80 metres (2.6 ft)
Mass	3,200 kilograms (7,100 lb)
Stages	1
Associated rockets
Derivative work	Rubis, Diamant
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	CIEES/CERES Ile du Levant
Total launches	12
Success(es)	11
Failure(s)	1
First flight	June 3, 1961
Last flight	April 20, 1964
First stage
Powered by	NA801 Mammouth
Maximum thrust	186 kilonewtons (42,000 lbf)
Propellant	Solid
[edit on Wikidata]

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).

• 
  Military space program Pierres précieuses (fr.: gemstones) that included the five prototypes Agathe, Topaze, Emeraude, Rubis et Saphir.
• 
  Agate and Rubis rockets