Cora was a single-stage French experimental

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

. It was the largest rocket ever launched in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

. It was primarily used for component testing in support of the multinational Europa Rocket, which was developed and produced by the

European Launcher Development Organisation 250px, Europa II 200px, Rolls-Royce''RZ-12'' 200px, ''Coralie'' 200px, ''Astris'' The European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO) is a former European space research organisation. It was first developed in order to establish a satelli ...

, the predecessor to the present day

European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...

. The first stage of the Cora 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/Russia 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 (UDMH; 1,1-dimethylhydrazine, НДМГ or codenamed Geptil) is a chemical compound with the formula H2NN(CH3)2 that is used as a rocket propellant. It is a colorless liquid, with a sharp, fishy, ammonia-like smell ...

(UDMH). The entire rocket had a length of 11.5 metres and a takeoff weight of 16.5 tonnes. It was powered by a three-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 (a rocket using propellant or a jet engine using fuel) creates thrust. For engines whose reaction mass is only the fuel they carry, specific impulse i ...

(in vacuum) of 280 seconds. A cylindrical black ring supporting four fins was attached to the rocket's base. On 27 November 1966, the first launch of the Cora rocket was conducted at the CIEES missile range and launch facility at

Hammaguir Hammaguir (also written Hamaguir and Hammaguira) ( ar, حماقير) is a village in Abadla District, Béchar Province, Algeria, south-west of Béchar. It lies on the N50 national highway between Béchar and Tindouf. The location is notable fo ...

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

. On 18 December 1966, the second launch, which was considered to be a success, took place. On 25 October 1967, Core was launched from

Biscarrosse Biscarrosse (; oc, Biscarròssa) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is located southwest of Bordeaux, and inland from the seaside resort of Biscarrosse-Plage on the Atlantic coast. Near Bis ...

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by t ...

, however, it was considered to be a failure.

References

{{Reflist Experimental rockets Space launch vehicles of France