&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:SEREB_Topaze_rockets.gif) Topaze versions | |
| Function | Sounding rocket |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | SEREB |
| Country of origin | France |
| Size | |
| Height | VE111C: 7.07 metres (23.2 ft) VE111L: 7.90 metres (25.9 ft) |
| Mass | VE111C: 2,900 kilograms (6,400 lb) VE111L: 3,434 kilograms (7,571 lb) |
| Stages | 1 |
| Associated rockets | |
| Derivative work | Saphir, Diamant |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | CIEES |
| Total launches | 14 |
| First flight | 19 December 1962 |
| Last flight | 1965 |
| VE111C stage | |
| Powered by | NA802 |
| Maximum thrust | 120 kilonewtons (27,000 lbf) |
| Propellant | Solid |
| VE111L / VE111LG stage | |
| Powered by | NA803 |
| Maximum thrust | 147 kilonewtons (33,000 lbf) |
| Propellant | Solid |
Topaze (Véhicule Expérimental 111 Topaze) is the designation of a French sounding rocket.[1] The Topaze was developed by several French companies, notably Nord Aviation and Sud Aviation,[2] and built by SEREB (a joint venture of Nord and Sud, now known as Aérospatiale) and was the first guidable French sounding rocket.
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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 name indicates that it is a "Véhicule Expérimental" (Experimental Vehicle) with 1 stage, using solid propulsion (code 1), and guided (code 1).
The Topaze was launched 14 times from the CIEES launch site in Hammaguir (Hammaguira Bacchus pad), Algeria, by ONERA.[4]
- ^ "Topaze (VE-111)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
- ^ News Digest. // Aviation Week & Space Technology, January 7, 1963, v. 78, no. 1, p. 37.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "News Digest". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Vol. 78, no. 1. January 7, 1963. p. 37.