Cora was a French experimental
rocket
A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...
.
It was the largest rocket ever launched in
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
.
It was primarily used for testing the
second
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
(''Coralie'') and
third stages (''
Astris In Greek mythology, Astris (Ancient Greek: Ἀστρὶς) or Asteria was, in Nonnus's ''Dionysiaca'', one of the Heliades, daughters of Helios, either by the Oceanid Clymene or the Oceanid Ceto. She married the river god Hydaspes (the modern Jh ...
'') of the multinational
Europa Rocket,
which was developed and produced by the
European Launcher Development Organisation
file:Europa2vrp.jpg, 250px, Europa II
file:Europa2rp.jpg, 200px, Rolls-Royce ''RZ-12''
file:Coralie rocket stage top view.jpg, 200px, ''Coralie''
file:Europa Upper Stage University of Stuttgart 02.jpg, 200px, ''Astris''
The European Launcher ...
, the predecessor to the present day
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...
.
For the Cora 1 only the French ''Coralie'' first stage was active. For the Cora 2 version the second German ''Astris'' stage was active. The Italian made Europa nose fairing was also tested.
Configuration
The entire rocket had a length of 11.5 metres, a diameter of 2.01 m and a takeoff weight of 16.5 tonnes. Total thrust was 220.00 kN, with the rocket capable of reaching an apogee of 55 km.
The ''Coralie'' first stage was 5.5 metres long and had a diameter of 2 metres; when fully fuelled, it weighed 9.85 tonnes; the propellant was a mixture of
nitrogen tetroxide
Dinitrogen tetroxide, commonly referred to as nitrogen tetroxide (NTO), and occasionally (usually among ex-USSR/Russian rocket engineers) as amyl, is the chemical compound N2O4. It is a useful reagent in chemical synthesis. It forms an equilibrium ...
and
unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine
Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (abbreviated as UDMH; also known as 1,1-dimethylhydrazine, heptyl or Geptil) is a chemical compound with the formula H2NN(CH3)2 that is primarily used as a rocket propellant. At room temperature, UDMH is a colorle ...
(UDMH). It was powered by a four-nozzle engine that produced 220
KN of thrust and had a
specific impulse
Specific impulse (usually abbreviated ) is a measure of how efficiently a reaction mass engine, such as a rocket engine, rocket using propellant or a jet engine using fuel, generates thrust. In general, this is a ratio of the ''Impulse (physics), ...
(in vacuum) of 280 seconds. A cylindrical black ring supporting four fins was attached to the rocket's base.
The ''Astris'' second stage was 3.36 meters long with a diameter of 2 meters; when fully fuelled, it weighed 3.370 tonnes; the propellant was a mixture of
nitrogen tetroxide
Dinitrogen tetroxide, commonly referred to as nitrogen tetroxide (NTO), and occasionally (usually among ex-USSR/Russian rocket engineers) as amyl, is the chemical compound N2O4. It is a useful reagent in chemical synthesis. It forms an equilibrium ...
and
Aerozine-50. It was powered by an engine that produced 23.33 kN of thrust and had a
specific impulse
Specific impulse (usually abbreviated ) is a measure of how efficiently a reaction mass engine, such as a rocket engine, rocket using propellant or a jet engine using fuel, generates thrust. In general, this is a ratio of the ''Impulse (physics), ...
(in vacuum) of 310 seconds.
Launch history
Six Cora launches were planned, the first four using the Cora 1 configuration and the last two using the Cora 2.
Only the three first launches took place, with the Cora 2 configuration never being tested:
* On 27 November 1966, a first launch was conducted at the
CIEES missile range and launch facility at
Hammaguir,
French Algeria
French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...
. Guidance was lost at T+62s, with the rocket reaching an apogee of 10 km.
It was considered a half success.
* On 18 December 1966, a second launch took place.
It reached an apogee of 55 km and was considered successful.
* On 25 October 1967, Core was launched from
Biscarrosse,
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...
. Reaching an apogee of 10 km if failed due to a cabling issue.
The following planned flights were cancelled and replaced by tests of the Europa rocket (Europa 1 F7, Europa 1 F6/1 and Europa 1 F6/2).
See also
*
Europa Rocket
References
{{Reflist
Experimental rockets
Space launch vehicles of France