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CERES Ile Du Levant
CERES ("Centre d'Essais et de Recherches d'Engins Spéciaux" for "''Special Weapons Research and Tests Center"'') Ile du Levant was a French suborbital rocket launch site, located at Levant Island, Ile du Levant, and active between 1956 and 1968. CERES played a pivotal role in testing a wide array of tactical missiles used in France, as well as conducting tests for sounding rockets on behalf of CNES and European Space Research Organisation, ESRO. Additionally, the center was involved in experiments with ONERA and Société d'étude et de réalisation d'engins balistiques, SEREB experimental vehicles, solidifying its significance in the realm of missile research and testing. History In the early 1950s, a military missile test site was established at the French naval base on the Ile du Levant, an offshore island in the Mediterranean near Toulon. Known as CERES, it replaced a beach site at Pampelonne used for launches since 1948. This facility served as a Naval Air Force base thro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ONERA
The Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales (ONERA) is the French national aerospace research centre. It is a public establishment with industrial and commercial operations, and carries out application-oriented research to support enhanced innovation and competitiveness in the aerospace and defense sectors. ONERA was created in 1946 as "Office National d’Études et de Recherches Aéronautiques". Since 1963, its official name has been "Office National d’Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales". However, in January 2007, ONERA has been dubbed "The French Aerospace Lab" to improve its international visibility. History ONERA's historic roots are in the Paris suburb of Meudon, south of Paris. As early as 1877, this site hosted an aeronautical research center for military aerostats (balloons): Etablissement central de l’aérostation militaire. ONERA was created in May 1946 to relaunch aeronautics research, an activity that had gone into hibernation during t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antarès (OPd-56-39-22D)
The Antarès (OPd-56-39-22D) was a French multistage rocket designed by ONERA for reentry studies. In the late 1950s, the study of missile warhead reentry necessitated the development of a more robust rocket than the existing OR, VD and OPd series. The Antarès rocket, designated OPd-56-39-22D during its developmental phase, was designed to facilitate the study of kinetic heating on objects flying at speeds up to Mach number, Mach 7. Description Measuring 12.2 meters in length and boasting a takeoff weight of up to 1785 kg, the rocket consisted of four stages. Three of these stages were ignited in an upward trajectory, reaching altitudes of up to 150 km, while the fourth stage accelerated the payload during its descent. Utilizing all four stages during ascent, Antares had the capability to send a payload of 35 kg to an altitude of 280 km. The first stage featured a SEPR 734-1 Vesuve motor with a diameter of 56 cm and a length of 3.5 m, delivering a tota ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |