Tauro (rocket)

Tauro T-01 rocket at CELPA, Chamical
Tauro on launch ramp at CELPA, Chamical, February 11, 1979

Tauro was an Argentinian sounding rocket developed in 1977.[1][2][3][4][5][6] It is a two-stage solid fuel rocket (two Canopus stages),[3] launched nine times between 1977 and 1981.[2][6]

Built by Instituto de Investigaciones Aeronáuticas y Espaciales (IIAE), it was capable of sending a 100 kg payload to an altitude of 120 km.[2][3] Both stages burned a polyurethane composite and had a diameter of 28 cm. Total weight of Tauro was 1200 kg with a length of 7.6 m.[3]

The first Tauro (Tauro T-01) was launched in July 1977 from CELPA, Chamical.[6][3] A second rocket (Tauro T-02) was launched on February 2, 1979.[6]

The last flight (Tauro T-09) happened on December 10, 1981, equipped with cameras for earth surface photography from high altitudes. The photographic payload was successfully recovered.[6][5][4][2][3]

  1. ^ CORREO DE NOTICIAS VIA E-MAIL, AÑO I, NOVIEMBRE 2014, Nº 4 (PDF). INSTITUTO NACIONAL NEWBERIANO - Comisión de Estudios Históricos Aeroespaciales. November 2014. p. 14.
  2. ^ a b c d "El último Tauro, un hito en el desarrollo aeroespacial argentino". Argentina en el Espacio. December 10, 2014. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Vectores 1970 / 1979". Argentina en el Espacio. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  4. ^ a b "Tras 20 años, Argentina lanza otro cohete de dos etapas | Ciudadanos". La Voz del Interior (in Spanish). 2011-07-12. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  5. ^ a b MAZ. "Historia Aeroespacial Argentina". Machtres Aeronautica y Espacio (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  6. ^ a b c d e Krebs, Gunter D. "Tauro". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-04-17.