The Éridan is a two-stage French sounding rocket, which results from the use of the Stromboli engine (also used on the Dragon and Dauphin) for the first and second stages.[3][4]

Éridan
Country of originFrance[1]
First flight26 September 1968
Last flight14 November 1979
Applicationhigh altitude research
sounding rocket[2]
Sud-Aviation Belier rocket family.

It belonged to a family of solid-propellant rockets that also encompasses the Belier, the Centaure, the Dragon, and the Dauphin.[5][6] As the most powerful version of this series it could lift payloads from 100 to 420 kg to heights of 200 to a maximum of 460 km.[4] Its ascent time is between 230 and 350 seconds.[7]

Total thrust was 90.00 kN (20,232 lbf) with a gross mass of 2,127 kg (4,689 lb). The rocket had a height of 9.92 m (32.54 ft), a diameter of 0.56 m (1.82 ft) and a span of 1.55 m (5.10 ft).[4]

Launches

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The main launch site was Kourou, but the first flight on 26 September 1968 from this site failed.[4] Twelve additional launches took the rocket to altitudes of 196 – 420 km between 12 April 1969 and 14 November 1979. Two Éridan were launched in January and February 1975 off the Kerguelen Islands.[3][4]

Date Launch Site Launch Complex Mission Description Apogee (km)
1968 September 26 Kourou Kourou ALFS Failure 0
1969 April 12 Kourou Kourou ALFS FU-181B test flight test 406
1969 April 23 Kourou Kourou ALFS FU-187 test, A cone test 420
1969 August 22 Kourou Kourou ALFS FU-187 test, B cone test 242
1971 May 17 Kourou Kourou ALFS FU-203 recovery test 196
1971 October 16 Kourou Kourou ALFS ATLAS / CM16 / Gemini Ultraviolet astronomy mission 205
1972 November 11 Kourou Kourou ALFS FU-201 LPSP-EUV2 300
1972 December 7 Kourou Kourou ALFS FU-205 JANUS Ultraviolet astronomy mission 213
1973 November 11 Kourou Kourou ALFS FU-201 (Solar EUV 2) Solar extreme ultraviolet mission 300
1974 November 5 Kourou Kourou ALFS FAUST FU-214 Ultraviolet astronomy mission 220
1974 November 19 Kourou Kourou ALFS FAUST FU-215 Ultraviolet astronomy mission 220
1975 January 26 Kerguelen - ARAKS Northward Ionosphere / plasma mission 190
1975 February 15 Kerguelen - ARAKS Eastward Ionosphere / plasma mission 185
1978 November 23 Kourou Kourou ALFS Ariane range test 350
1979 June 13 Kourou Kourou ALFS Ariane range test 350
1979 November 14 Kourou Kourou ALFS Ariane range test 350

See also

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References

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  1. ^ United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (1965). Semiannual Report to the Congress. The Administration.
  2. ^ STAR. NASA, Office of Scientific and Technical Information. 1967.
  3. ^ a b "History of Dauphin & Eridan Sounding Rockets | 54th International Astronautical Congress of the International Astronautical Federation, the International Academy of Astronautics, and the International Institute of Space Law". International Astronautical Congress (IAF). 29 September 2003. doi:10.2514/6.IAC-03-IAA.2.3.05. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Eridan". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  5. ^ "Sud Aviation Sounding Rockets". 2007-01-06. Archived from the original on 2007-01-06. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  6. ^ "Eridan". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  7. ^ "Intéressés, ils demandèrent au CNES d'envisager sérieusement un projet d'astronomie spatiale d'envergure qui serait réalisé par quelque soixante fusées-sondes Éridan (ou de la classe Éridan).". Les débuts de la recherche spatiale française. Institut français d'histoire de l'espace. 2007. ISBN 2846082154.