El Arenosillo Test Centre (CEDEA) is the name of a rocket launch site for suborbital rockets managed by INTA, located in Moguer (Spain). It is located in the province of Huelva, Andalucía, in the southwest coast of Spain (37.1° N, 6.7° W). CEDEA is adjacent to the Center of Excellence for Unmanned Systems (CEUS).
El Arenosillo is also the location of an autonomous astronomical observatory of the BOOTES network, with two domes and three telescopes.
Equipment
Among the main facilities that INTA has at CEDEA are (updated 2009): Two automatic telemetry systems (fixed and mobile) in S and L bands HF, UHF and VHF communications systems Airborne and maritime surveillance radars, NORTHCONTROL Mobile path radar, VITRO RIR 778X, 250 Kw Radar path, TRACOR RIR 779C, 1 Mw 1Mw VITRO RIR 778C mobile path radar with destruction command Three autonomous mobile optronic stations, MSP 2000, equipped with IR, TV, cinema and radar sensors (3D, high precision and with telemetric capabilities) Weather center with real-time information, satellite data reception and complete radiosonde system Control center where all the information necessary for the supervision and monitoring of a launching operation (air traffic control, meteorology, cartography, sensor data integration, flight safety, etc.) is centralized. Evaluation center: preparation, analysis and evaluation of reports Two high speed cameras (10000 images/s)
Complementing the above, the Center also has: Meteorological laboratory and probe balloons Presentation and conference room Telemetry, radar and optronic workshops Mechanical workshop, electrical workshop, sanitary service and warehouses Accommodation service for operations Laboratory for photographic processing
In 2017 part of the equipment was damaged in a wildfire. In the years 2018 and 2019 INTA has dedicated part of its budget to replace damaged equipment.
Pads Incomplete list of launch pads: Nike – Operational. Based on a modified Nike Hercules system Sermiat – Unoperational. Used for Centaure rockets Médano del Loro – Operational. Is an adjacent launch site managed by Spanish Army
Launch history
The first launch of a rocket from El Arenosillo took place 15 October 1966. Up to 1994 a total of 557 rockets were launched from this base, mainly of the Skua type for atmospheric soundings and in collaboration with other countries. Other rockets launched included Nike Cajun, Nike Apache, Centaure, Black Brant, Skylark, Petrel, Super Loki, INTA-255, INTA-300 and INTA-300B.
All rockets for atmospheric soundings in Spain are launched from El Arenosillo.
In 2015 Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering broke the European altitude record for amateur rocketry by launching the Stratos II+ rocket to 21.5 km altitude from El Arenosillo.
On 1 March 2017, Zero 2 Infinity tested its first rocket, a Bloostar prototype, in El Arenosillo. A balloon took Bloostar to 25 km. At 25 km the ignition of the rocket took place. The goals of the mission were: (i) validation of the telemetry systems in Space conditions, (ii) controlled ignition, (iii) stabilization of the rocket, (iv) monitoring of the launch sequence, (v) parachute deployment, and finally, (vi) sea recovery. All these goals were achieved in full.
In 2023 PLD Space launched its first rocket Miura 1 from El Arenosillo.
Date (UTC) Vehicle Payload Launch pad Result Remarks 15 October 1966 Skua INTA, Carabela 4 Aeronomy / test ? First launch, 81 km apogee 19 July 1969 INTA-255 ? ? 20 December 1969 INTA-255 ? ? 22 December 1970 INTA-255 ? ? 12 January 1974, 19:12 Skylark H-GR-58 ? 27 June 1976 Black Brant IV ASTRO-6, EUV radiation ? 720 km apogee 18 February 1981 INTA-300 ? Nike 7 April 1992 INTA-100 ? ? First launch of INTA-100. 120 km apogee 21 October 1993 INTA-300B ? Nike 16 April 1994 INTA-300B ? Nike 16 Oct 2015 Stratos II+ ? ? 21.457 km (new European amateur record) 1 March 2017 Bloostar ? – Bloostar first test 26 July 2018 Stratos III ? ? 11 April 2019 Miura 5 None ? Drop test 5 km 23 October 2021 Stratos IV ? ? (Aborted) 20 November 2021 Bondar ? ? 7.8 km apogee (Spanish amateur record) 7 October 2023 Miura 1 Payload from ZARM Médano del Loro 46 km apogee
Only some launches are listed here. For information on individual rockets, see the List of rockets launched from El Arenosillo.
References