The History of Sounding Rockets and Their Contribution to ... - ESA
The History of Sounding Rockets and Their Contribution to ... - ESA
The History of Sounding Rockets and Their Contribution to ... - ESA
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24<br />
- rocket-mo<strong>to</strong>r launch preparation<br />
- radar tracking<br />
- telemetry<br />
- recovery operations<br />
- fl ight analysis<br />
- data processing<br />
- project coordination.<br />
Since April 1967, under the national sounding-rocket programme started by Germany in 1963, MORABA<br />
has launched, or supported the launch <strong>of</strong>, several hundred sounding rockets from 15 different sites for DLR<br />
<strong>and</strong> ESRO/<strong>ESA</strong>.<br />
Breakdown <strong>of</strong> activities by space-science discipline<br />
For each <strong>of</strong> the two periods (1963/63 <strong>and</strong> 1968), 644 sounding-rocket experiments were analysed. <strong>The</strong> corresponding<br />
space-science disciplines are given as percentages in Table 4-4.<br />
Table 4-4. Breakdown <strong>of</strong> experiments by scientific discipline<br />
Scientifi c discipline % experiments 1963/64 % experiments 1968<br />
Atmospheric physics 32% 48%<br />
Ionospheric research 32% 22%<br />
Solar physics 11% 4%<br />
Energetic particles 6% 8%<br />
Aurora & airglow 6% 7%<br />
Astronomy 4% 7%<br />
Plane<strong>to</strong>logy 2% 3%<br />
Magnetic fi elds 1% 3%<br />
Test <strong>and</strong> other objectives<br />
(for example, communication)<br />
6% -<br />
Total no. experiments as % 100%, 644 experiments 100%, 644 exp.<br />
<strong>The</strong> scientifi c equipment fl own by these sounding rockets consisted inter alia <strong>of</strong> the following instruments/<br />
sensors/mechanical systems: cameras, chemical release systems, falling spheres, Geiger Müller counters,<br />
grenades, ionisation chambers, impedance probes, ion traps, Langmuir probes, magne<strong>to</strong>meters, mass-spectrometers,<br />
micrometeorite detec<strong>to</strong>rs, various pho<strong>to</strong>meters, propagation measurement facilities, radio-frequency<br />
receivers, scintillation counters, telescopes, etc.<br />
4.2 Early French activities<br />
As already mentioned in Chapter 2, the fi rst French sounding-rocket test fl ights started back in 1951 with<br />
Veronique, which included technical features derived from the V2. <strong>The</strong>se early fi ghts were carried out from<br />
the French military base near Hammaguir in southwest Algeria, which was then still French terri<strong>to</strong>ry. At that<br />
point in time, the military authorities were responsible for all rocket-development activities <strong>and</strong> operations.<br />
During this same period, the French military authorities developed their nuclear force de frappe strike force,<br />
<strong>of</strong> which strategic missiles represented an important element.
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