ONERA was created in May 1946 as the National Aeronautics Studies and Research Office. Its responsibilities covered all the aeronautics fields, but were extended to the space field in 1963. ONERA then became the National Aerospace Studies and Research Office.
ONERA research on rockets had several objectives: mastery of solid propulsion, development of subsystems (stabilization, control, telemetry, ...) but also qualification of aircraft components. Several ONERA departments developed rocket vehicles.
"OR" rockets of the "Structure Resistance" department
The OR series were small rockets essentially devoted to tests of new structures.
Weighing 450 kg, 4 m long and 180 mm in diameter, these rockets were often dropped from planes
before undertaking their mission. A dozen OR rockets were launched at Mailly-le-Camp,
between 1955 and 1958.
"VD" rockets of the "Energy and Propulsion" department
The VD series, also fired from 1955, allowed the first supersonic studies and to master
instabilities that could result in the destruction of high speed vehicles. From 1957, some of
these experimental rockets (VD-2050, VD-2141) were also used for research on tactical missiles.
"OPd" rockets of the "General Physics" department
The OPd series were a family of vehicles destined for the development of the instrumentation
necessary for research in aerodynamics and aerothermodynamics. More than fifteen vehicles with
various dimensions and weights were used as part of these studies. The first rockets were
designated by their diameter expressed in mm (OPD-80, OPD-100, OPD-200, OPD-220, OPD-250,
OPD-320). They could be used alone or associated with boosters. Other vehicles were designated
by their program number; such as the 2-stage 2422 (SPRAN 10 and SPRAL motors) or the 3-stage
2012 (SPRAN 20, SPRAN 4 and SPRAH motors). This rocket - 8.8 m long and weighing 927 kg - was
destined to test the remote control of a model equipped with a delta wing. It was fired for the
first time on 28 October 1957 from the Levant island.
Among the ONERA technological vehicles, we can mention the D-6 rocket, fired five times starting in 1963 to test the Concorde wings up to Mach 2.2 with a model fuselage measuring 2.7 m in length and 25 cm in diameter. This rocket weighed 1070 kg at takeoff and measured 8.5 m in length.
Antares
The study of missile warhead re-entry necessitated, at the end of the 50s, the development
of a more powerful rocket. The Antares rocket, that was designated OPd-56-39-22D during the
development phase, had to allow study of the kinetic heating of objects flying up to Mach 7.
Measuring 12.2 m long, with a takeoff weight of up to 1785 kg, it comprised four stages of
which three were fired upward (up to 150 km) while the fourth accelerated the payload during
the descent. The first stage used a SEPR 734-1 motor (Vesuve block), 56 cm in diameter and
3.5 m long, delivering a total impulse of 1025 kNs in less than 5 seconds. The second was the
sustainer stage (Neptune block); it measured 39 cm in diameter, 3.2 m in length and provided
630 kNs in approximately 32 seconds. The third stage was a SEPR 685-4 (Mimosa block) 2.6 m
long and 20 cm in diameter, providing 167 kNs in less than 5 seconds. The fourth stage motor
(Melanie block) was attached to the payload that measured 22 cm in diameter. With all four
stages used for the ascent, Antares could send a payload of 35 kg to 280 km altitude.
Thirteen launches were carried out between 2 May 1959 and 13 May 1961, six of which were
under the designation Antares.
Note: OPd-56-39-22-D/Antares firings had been preceded, on 30 January 1959, by a unique launching of the OPd-12-10-D rocket constituted of an OPd-100 surrounded by three 122 mm diameter boosters.
Berenice
Like Antares, Berenice had four solid stages, but the total takeoff weight reached 3340 kg
and the height 13.25 m. Two stages were fired upward, the next two downward. With its four
motors functioning on the ascent, Berenice could have launched a 40 kg payload to 1000 km
altitude.
The first stage, designated BER, comprised a main motor and around the rear part of it
a group of four rotating auxiliary motors allowing control. The main motor was a
Stromboli SEPR 739, 56 cm in diameter and 4.7 m in length
weighing 1885 kg. With 1240 kg of Plastolane propellant,
it delivered a total impulse of 2860 kNs in 20 seconds. The four auxiliary rockets were SEPR 167,
16 cm in diameter, with the nozzle canted at an angle of 45 degrees. With 23.5 kg of
Epictete propellant, each provided 45 kNs in 21.6 seconds.
The vehicle control was obtained by rotating these auxiliary motors around their longitudinal
axis. The second stage was a Stromboli SEPR 740,
3.2 m long weighing 1050 kg of which 740 kg was propellant providing 1650 kNs in 18 seconds.
After burn-out, it remained fixed to the upper stages to insure, by its fixed fins, the
stabilization of the rocket that peaked at 270 km approximately. During the descent, at about
55 km altitude, the upper stages stabilized by conical skirts burned successively to accelerate
the experimental mockup. The third stage SEPR 200 (Tramontane block) was 2.35 m long and
33.5 cm in diameter, weighed 280 kg with 156 kg of propellant, and provided 333 kNs in 6.7
seconds. The 4th stage (Melanie block) 22 cm in diameter, was 2.95 m long and weighed 120 kg
(including payload); its 22 kg of propellant delivered 49 kNs in 4.4 seconds. Around 20 km of
altitude, when the maximum speed of about Mach 12 was reached, the test itself began and lasted
about twenty seconds.
Eleven Berenice of this type were launched between 1962 and 1965, a twelfth launched in 1966
was used to prepare the Titus experiment for studying a solar eclipse.
In April 1963, ONERA presented a project for a small satellite (3.5 kg) called Satmos, which could have been launched by a modified Berenice rocket on a 250/1800 km orbit. This launcher was to be available in 1964, one year before Diamant. But the utility of this operation was not obvious and the project was cancelled.
From 1965, ONERA undertook, with the support of the DMA, a new program of re-entry experiments named ELECTRE. This program planned four flight tests with Tibere rockets.
Tibere
Tibere was a three-stage rocket measuring 14.5 m in height and weighing 4.5 tons. The first
stage was a BER cluster (SEPR 739 + 4 SEPR 167), the second was another SEPR 739, while the
third stage was a P.064 inherited from Diamant A. The first
two stages fired during the ascent made the upper composite (3rd stage + payload) culminate at
150 km altitude. This composite was beforehand directed towards the descent trajectory by an
attitude control device (CASSIOPEE). P.064 accelerated the warhead mockup in descent between
130 to 60 km altitude. The experiment itself occurred between 60 and 20 km and lasted ten
seconds until destruction of the payload.
Two flights only were actually carried out in February 1971 and March 1972.
Note: The two Tibere launches had been preceded by an experiment named CRAPEL (Cible-RAdar Preparatoire a ELectre). This experiment used a Belier rocket with a specific second stage (52 kNs in 10.5 sec) mounted upside down under the fairing.
Daniel
Some equipment destined for the Antares rockets had been tested on a 3-stage rocket that
was also used to develop atmosphere studies.
This rocket, designated Daniel (initially OPD-220-ADX), comprised a SPRAN 50 booster, 39 cm
in diameter and 2.54 m long, a sustainer stage powered by a Jericho block (largely used
thereafter on Belier rockets), an upper stage of the same type as
that of Antares and a fairing slightly longer. Its total height reached approximately 8.5 m and
its maximum mass 813 kg. It was used three times between 1959 and 1961.
From elements developed for the Berenice rockets, ONERA created two sounding rockets destined for various scientific studies.
Tacite
The first of these sounding rockets was the Tacite rocket (Tentative of Analysis of Infra-red
Contrast Ground-Space). It was a single-stage vehicle using a SEPR 739-2 motor, stabilized by a
cruciform tailfin equipped with small nitrogen spin nozzles.
With a takeoff mass of approximately 2 tons, Tacite could launch a 285 kg payload to 160 km
altitude. This rocket was fired four times (with one failure) between 1965 and 1968.
Titus
The second in this series of sounding rockets was the Titus rocket, especially developed
for observing the Sun during the eclipse of November 1966. This rocket used the first two stages
of Berenice (with a second stage SEPR 740-3 slightly longer). The BER cluster of the first stage
allowed a high precision trajectory particularly useful for these experiments.
The vehicle measured 11.5 m high, weighed 3 tons, and could launch 400 kg to 250 km altitude.
Two Titus rockets were launched successfully on November 12, 1966, from Chaco in Argentina,
with the collaboration of the Argentine CNIE.
Note : ONERA contributed thereafter to the CNES astronomical sounding rocket program by providing the CASSIOPEE device (Attitude Control by Inertial and Stellar Sensors for Orientation and Aiming of Experiments on the Stars). This device flew ten times between 1968 and 1975, with 2 ELECTRE and 8 astronomy experiments.
Tables
a/ ONERA rockets evolution
b/ Re-entry experiments
c/ Sounding rockets launches
Listings compiled with Philippe Varnoteaux's help, University of Reims, France
Links
Institut Français de l'Histoire de l'Espace - Fusées-sondes françaises
Scale in meters
1st stage | 2nd stage | 3rd stage | 4th stage | Performances | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Antares | SEPR 734-1 Vesuve | Neptune | SEPR 685-4 Mimosa | Melanie | 35 kg to 280 km |
Berenice | SEPR 739 Stromboli | SEPR 740 Stromboli | SEPR P200 Tramontane | Melanie | 40 kg to 1000 km |
Tacite | SEPR 739-2 Stromboli | - | - | - | 220 kg to 200 km |
Titus | SEPR 739-2 Stromboli | SEPR 740-3 Stromboli | - | - | 400 kg to 250 km |
Tibere | SEPR 739-2 Stromboli | SEPR 739-2 Stromboli | P.064 | - | 400 kg to 650 km |
Date | Site | Vehicle | Mission | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|
30 Jan 1959 | IDL | OPd-12-12-D | Technology/Kinetic heating | S, Mach 2.4 |
02 May 1959 | IDL | OPd-56-39-22-D 01 | Technology/Kinetic heating | S |
22 Oct 1959 | IDL | OPd-56-39-22-D 02 | Technology/Kinetic heating | S |
15 Dec 1959 | IDL | OPd-56-39-22-D 03 | Technology/Kinetic heating | PS, 3rd stage failure |
02 May 1960 | IDL | OPd-56-39-22-D 04 | Technology/Kinetic heating | ? |
05 May 1960 | IDL | OPd-56-39-22-D 05 | Kinetic heating | S |
26 Sep 1960 | IDL | OPd-56-39-22-D 06 | Kinetic heating | PS |
30 Sep 1960 | IDL | OPd-56-39-22-D 07 | Kinetic heating | S |
25 Nov 1960 | IDL | Antares 08 | Kinetic heating | PS, antenna breakage |
30 Nov 1960 | IDL | Antares 09 | Kinetic heating | S |
03 Mar 1961 | IDL | Antares 10 | Kinetic heating | S |
06 Mar 1961 | IDL | Antares 11 | Kinetic heating | S |
07 Mar 1961 | IDL | Antares 12 | Kinetic heating | PS, telemetry problem |
13 May 1961 | HMG | Antares 13 | High altitude radiations | S |
27 Jun 1962 | IDL | Berenice 01 | Technology/Kinetic heating | |
06 Jul 1962 | IDL | Berenice 02 | Technology/Kinetic heating | |
?? ??? 1962 | IDL | Berenice 03 | Technology/Kinetic heating | |
?? Nov 1962 | IDL | Berenice 04 | Technology/Kinetic heating | |
27 Jun 1963 | IDL | Berenice 05 | Kinetic heating | Mach 12 |
03 Jul 1963 | IDL | Berenice 06 | Kinetic heating | Mach 12 |
?? ??? 1964 | IDL | Berenice 07 | Kinetic heating | |
?? ??? 1964 | IDL | Berenice 08 | Kinetic heating | |
?? Oct 1964 | IDL | Berenice 09 | Kinetic heating | Mach 12 |
?? Oct 1964 | IDL | Berenice 10 | Kinetic heating | Mach 12 |
?? ??? 1965 | IDL | Berenice 11 | Kinetic heating | |
?? ??? 1966 | IDL | Berenice 12 | Solar corona, Titus flight test | S |
25 Sep 1969 | BIS | Belier 307 | CRAPEL, ELECTRE flight test | S |
23 Feb 1971 | BIS | Tibere 01 | ELECTRE experiment | S |
18 Mar 1972 | BIS | Tibere 02 | ELECTRE experiment | S |
Date | Site | Vehicle | Mission | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|
27 Jan 1959 | IDL | Daniel 01 | Atmosphere radioactivity | S (127 km) |
13 May 1961 | HMG | Antares 13 | High altitude radiations | S |
05 Oct 1961 | IDL | Daniel 03 | Technology | S |
09 Oct 1961 | IDL | Daniel 02 | Technology | S |
15 Jun 1965 | IDL | Tacite 01 | Earth IR radiation | S |
12 Nov 1966 | #ARG | Titus 01 | FU150 Astronomy (eclipse) | S (274 km) |
12 Nov 1966 | #ARG | Titus 02 | FU150 Astronomy (eclipse) | S (270 km) |
23 Nov 1967 | IDL | Tacite 02 | FU169 Astronomy | VF, explosion |
15 May 1968 | IDL | Tacite 03 | Earth IR radiation | S |
15 Oct 1968 | IDL | Tacite 04 | FU183 Technology (attitude control) + Astronomy | PS (140 km) |