Capricornio was a Spanish
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
launch vehicle
A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload (spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pad, launch pads, supported by a missile launch contro ...
developed by the ''
Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial
The Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial «Esteban Terradas» (INTA, ) is an autonomous agency of the Spanish public administration dependent on the Secretariat of State for Defence (SEDEF). It is responsible for the aerospace, aerona ...
'' (''INTA'') in the 1990s.
It was expected to be a low cost solution to place up to 70 kg payloads into 600 km
polar orbit
A polar orbit is one in which a satellite passes above or nearly above both poles of the body being orbited (usually a planet such as the Earth, but possibly another body such as the Moon or Sun) on each revolution. It has an inclination of about ...
s or 60 to 140 kg payloads into
low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...
. The Capricornio program was cancelled in 2000.
Development
* First phase: development of solid motors using the
INTA-100
The INTA-100 vehicle was a small 2-stage meteorological sounding rocket designed and developed between the 1980s and the 1990s by the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA). The final design was entirely produced in Spain to be used ...
and
INTA-300
The INTA-300, also known as the "Flamenco", was a two-stage Spanish sounding rocket
A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements an ...
sounding rockets
A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are used to ...
, launched from the
El Arenosillo
El Arenosillo Test Centre (CEDEA) is the name of a rocket launch site for suborbital rockets managed by INTA, located near Mazagón in Spain. It is located in the province of Huelva, AndalucÃa, in the southwest coast of Spain (37.1° N, 6.7 ...
test range in southern Spain.
* Second phase: use Capricornio second and third stages as the
Argo sounding rocket (originally planned for winter 1998-99).
* Third phase: first launch of the full Capricornio rocket, carrying a micro-satellite.
Configuration
Three-stage solid propellant launcher. Overall length of 18.25 m, body diameter of 1.0 m and weighs 15,035 kg at launch.
* Stage 1 contains a
Thiokol
Thiokol (variously Thiokol Chemical Corporation(/Company), Morton Thiokol Inc., Cordant Technologies Inc., Thiokol Propulsion, AIC Group, ATK Thiokol, ATK Launch Systems Group; finally Orbital ATK before becoming part of Northrop Grumman) was an ...
Castor 4B motor with
HTPB Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) is an oligomer of butadiene terminated at each end with a hydroxyl functional group. It reacts with isocyanates to form polyurethane polymers.
HTPB is a translucent liquid with a color similar to wax paper ...
solid propellant
A propellant (or propellent) is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or other motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicles, the e ...
.
* Stage 2 contains a motor named
Deneb-F.
* Stage 3 contains a motor named
Mizar-B.
Projected flights
The first flight of Capricornio was scheduled to take place from
El Hierro Launch Centre
El Hierro Launch Centre (in Spanish: ''Centro de Lanzamiento Espacial de La Isla de El Hierro'') is a proposed project by Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA) to create a spaceport on the island of El Hierro, called the "Meridian Ze ...
in late 1999 or 2000. It would carry two small satellites:
Nanosat 01
The Nanosat 01, sometimes written as NanoSat-1 or NanoSat 01, was an artificial satellite developed by the Spanish Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA) and launched the 18th of December 2004. Considered a nano satellite for its wei ...
(developed by the
Polytechnic University of Madrid
The Technical University of Madrid or sometimes called Polytechnic University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, UPM) is a public university, located in Madrid, Spain. It was founded in 1971 as the result of merging different Te ...
) and
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
(Polytechnic University of Madrid and other universities in Mexico and Argentina).
See also
*
*
*
References
{{Portal bar, Spaceflight
Space launch vehicles of Spain
Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial
Expendable space launch systems
Space launch vehicles of Europe