The Dauphin is a French

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 and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are used to ...

, of which six versions were constructed between 1967 and 1978. It represents a modification of the starting stage of the

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

with a larger payload nosecone. The Dauphin has a diameter of 56 centimetres, a launch weight of 1.132

metric ton The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton (United States c ...

s, a length of 6.21 metres, a takeoff thrust of 90 kN and a ceiling of 150 kilometres. It belonged to a family of

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 ...

rockets including the Belier, the

Centaure Centaure or Le Centaure is the French name of the mythological creature the centaur, and may also refer to: Ships *, a French Navy ship in service from 1712 to 1756 *, a French Navy ship that sank in 1750 *, a 74-gun ship of the line of the Frenc ...

, and the Dragon, along with the Eridan.

Launching experiments

On September 14, 1972, a Dauphin rocket probed from the

Guiana Base of Kourou The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * G ...

. In November 1972, the third launching experiment, a very new and original experiment, took place on a Dauphin Rocket from

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

References

External links

Dauphin
Sounding rockets of France {{rocket-stub