Centaure was a two-stage French sounding rocket consisting of a Venus first stage and a Belier second stage. It belongs to a family of solid-propellant rockets consisting of the Belier, Centaure, Dragon, Dauphin, and Eridan.
The aerospace company Sud Aviation was appointed as the prime contractor for the project that would create Centaure in 1958; the first launch took place three years later. Centaure rockets were launched from a variety of sites, including the CIEES/Hammaguir missile range, Reggane, CELPA, Salto di Quirra, Esrange, Thumba, Sonmiani, and Andøya. It had a maximum payload of 60 kg, an apogee of 130-146 km, a launch thrust of 44 kN, a launch weight of 500-600 kg, a diameter of 0.28 m and a length of 5.9-6.3 m.
Development
In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, various nations were keen to incorporate recent military advances into their own armed forces; the newly liberated nation of France was no exception. Akin to the American's Operation Paperclip, France recruited various scientists and skilled personnel from the former Axis countries, particularly those with knowledge of advanced aerospace technologies. Amongst these were in excess of 30 staff that had formerly worked at Peenemünde, the hub of the Nazi German rocket programme that produced the V-2 rocket - the technology for which was partly used for the first launchers of the space age.Reuter 2000, p. 179. During mid-1946, France embarked on development of a V-2 derivative, commonly referred to as the Super V-2. However, France's wider rocketry research programme was intended to develop the nation's knowledge of rocketry for both military and scientific purposes.
Additional projects to develop France's first sounding rockets were launched during the late 1940s and 1950s. One of the largest, called Veronique, was started in 1949;Reuter 2000, p. 181. it would see the launch of nearly one hundred rockets between 1950 and 1975, the findings from which were used to improve various aspects of French rockets, including their structure and fuel composition. During 1958, the French aerospace company Sud Aviation was appointed to lead a new rocket programme intended to produce a new generation of high-performance and simplified solid-fuel sounding rockets. Accordingly, an initial series, referred to Aries, Centaure and Dragon, was developed during the latter half of the 1960s, along with the Dauphin and Eridanus rockets, which were capable of carrying larger payloads.
Launches of the Centaure rocket were performed between 1961 and 1986. Data collected from the operation of the Centaure rocket would benefit not only France but also feed into the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO). Between October 1962 and April 1969, the Centaure was the most commonly used sounding rocket by the ESRO.Seibert 2006, p. 26. The first launch at Sweden's Esrange space complex, conducted on 19 November 1966, was performed using a Centaure rocket. There was also international interest (outside of Europe) in the Centaure; during the mid-1960s, India signed an agreement with France for the domestic production of 50 Centaure rockets, which would be used for scientific purposes. Ultimately, the Centaure was the basis for India's Rohini rocket family.
During 1976, the French government, have recently reoriented its space policy, discontinued the national sounding rocket programme.Seibert 2006, p. 25.
Nine scale models representing multiple rockets, including the Centaure, were built for the Musée des Arts et Métiers and displayed at the temporary exhibition L'Espace held in 1964. These models have been preserved and periodically are displayed.
Versions
There were multiple versions of Centaure rocket produced: VersionStagesGross mass (kg)Height (m)Diameter (m)Apogee (km)CentaureVenus + Belier4576.020.28140Centaure 1Venus + Belier600 5.90.28 130Centaure 2AVenus + Belier II600 5.90.28 146 Centaure 2BVenus + Belier II5006.30.28 146 Centaure 2CVenus + Belier II600 5.90.28 146
Launches A large number of Centaure rockets was launched between 1961 and 1986: