Agate (rocket)


VE 110 Agate is the designation of an unguided French test rocket developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
It was part of the Pierres précieuses program, that included five prototypes Agathe, Topaze, Emeraude, Rubis and Saphir, leading up to the Diamant orbital rocket.
The Agate has a length of 8.50 metres, a diameter of 0.80 metres, a start mass of 3.2 tonnes, a takeoff thrust of 186 kN and a ceiling of 20 km. It used a NA801 Mammouth solid propellant rocket engine.
The initial version was designated VE 110, while the VE 110RR version was used to develop recovery procedures at sea. The name indicates that it is a "Véhicule Expérimental" with 1 stage, using solid propulsion, and not guided.

Launches

The Agate was launched from the CIEES test site in Hammaguir, French Algeria, and the Île du Levant test site, in order to test instrument capsules and recovery systems.
DateLaunch SiteLaunch ComplexMission DescriptionApogee
1961 June 3HammaguiraHammaguira BacchusTest mission20
1961 June 7HammaguiraHammaguira BacchusTest mission20
1961 Nov 13HammaguiraHammaguira BacchusTest mission20
1961 Nov 17HammaguiraHammaguira BacchusTest mission20
1962 Mar 19HammaguiraHammaguira BacchusTest mission20
1962 Mar 23HammaguiraHammaguira BacchusTest mission20
1963 May 18HammaguiraHammaguira BrigitteTest mission20
1963 May 21HammaguiraHammaguira BrigitteTest mission20
1963 Nov 19Île du LevantCERESFailure0
1963 Nov 28Ile du LevantCERESTest mission20
1964 Feb 28Ile du LevantCERESTest mission20
1964 Apr 20Ile du LevantCERESTest mission20