El Arenosillo


El Arenosillo Test Centre is the name of a rocket launch site for suborbital rockets managed by INTA, located in Moguer. It is located in the province of Huelva, Andalucía, in the southwest coast of Spain. CEDEA is adjacent to the Center of Excellence for Unmanned Systems.
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 :
  • Two automatic telemetry systems 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
  • 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 is centralized.
  • Evaluation center: preparation, analysis and evaluation of reports
  • Two high speed cameras
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: validation of the telemetry systems in Space conditions, controlled ignition, stabilization of the rocket, monitoring of the launch sequence, parachute deployment, and finally, sea recovery. All these goals were achieved in full.
In 2023 PLD Space launched its first rocket Miura 1 from El Arenosillo.
Date VehiclePayloadLaunch padResultRemarks
15 October 1966SkuaINTA, Carabela 4 Aeronomy / test?First launch, 81 km apogee
19 July 1969INTA-255??
20 December 1969INTA-255??
22 December 1970INTA-255??
12 January 1974, 19:12SkylarkH-GR-58?
27 June 1976Black Brant IVASTRO-6, EUV radiation?720 km apogee
18 February 1981INTA-300?Nike
7 April 1992INTA-100??First launch of INTA-100. 120 km apogee
21 October 1993INTA-300B?Nike
16 April 1994INTA-300B?Nike
16 Oct 2015Stratos II+??21.457 km
1 March 2017Bloostar?–Bloostar first test
26 July 2018Stratos III??
11 April 2019Miura 5-?Drop test 5 km
23 October 2021Stratos IV??
20 November 2021Bondar??7.8 km apogee
7 October 2023Miura 1Payload from ZARMMédano del Loro46 km apogee

Only some launches are listed here. For information on individual rockets, see the List of rockets launched from El Arenosillo.