Europa rocket
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| Europa | |
 Europa II rocket |
|
| Fact sheet | |
|---|---|
| Function | Orbital carrier rocket |
| Manufacturer | ELDO |
| Country of origin | Europe |
| Size | |
| Height | 33 m |
| Diameter | 3.05 m |
| Mass | 104,670 kg |
| Stages | 3 - 4 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to GTO |
Europa I: 200 kg Europa II: 360 kg |
| Launch History | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | LA-6, Woomera CECLES, CSG (Kourou) |
| Total launches | 11 5 Blue Streak 2 Blue Streak/Coralie 3 Europa I 1 Europa II |
| Successes | 4 4 Blue Streak |
| Failures | 7 1 Blue Streak 2 Blue Streak/Coralie 3 Europa I 1 Europa II |
| Maiden flight | Blue Streak: 4 June 1964 Coralie: 4 August 1967 Europa I: 29 November 1968 Europa II: 5 November 1971 |
| Last flight | Blue Streak: 14 November 1966 Coralie: 4 December 1967 Europa I: 12 November 1970 Europa II: 5 November 1971 |
| First Stage - Blue Streak | |
| Engines | 2 RZ-2 |
| Thrust | 170,565 kgf (1.67267 MN) |
| Specific impulse | 282 s |
| Burn time | 156 seconds |
| Fuel | RP-1/LOX |
| Second Stage (Optional) - Coralie | |
| Engines | 4 Vexin-A |
| Thrust | 28,000 kgf |
| Specific impulse | 277 s |
| Burn time | 96 seconds |
| Fuel | UDMH/N2O4 |
| Third Stage - Astris | |
| Engines | 1 Astris |
| Thrust | 2,380 kgf (23.3 kN) |
| Specific impulse | 310 sec |
| Burn time | 330 seconds |
| Fuel | N2O4/Aerozine-50 |
| Fourth Stage - P068 (Europa II) | |
| Engines | 1 Solid |
| Thrust | TBC |
| Burn time | TBC |
| Fuel | Solid |
The Europa rocket was an early expendable launch system of the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO), which was the precursor to the European Space Agency and its Ariane family of launchers. The programme was initiated by the UK and the first launch occurred in August 1967.
Tasks were to be distributed between nations: the United Kingdom would provide the first stage (derived from the Blue Streak missile), France would build the second and Germany the third stage.
The Europa programme was divided into 3 successive projects :
- Europa 1: 4 unsuccessful launches
- Europa 2: 1 unsuccessful launch
- Europa 3: Cancelled before any launch occurred
[edit] Europa rocket launches
| Flight | Date | Model | Stages | Payload | Launch site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Jun 5, 1964 | Blue Streak |
|
- | Woomera |
|
|
Oct 20, 1964 | Blue Streak |
|
- | Woomera |
|
|
Mar 22, 1965 | Blue Streak |
|
- | Woomera |
|
|
May 24, 1966 | Blue Streak |
|
upper stage mockups | Woomera |
|
|
Nov 15, 1966 | Blue Streak |
|
upper stage mockups | Woomera |
|
|
Aug 4, 1967 | Coralie |
|
third stage mockup | Woomera |
|
|
Dec 5, 1967 | Coralie |
|
third stage mockup | Woomera |
|
|
Nov 30, 1968 | Europa 1 |
|
third stage mockup | Woomera |
|
|
Jul 31, 1969 | Europa 1 |
|
satellite mockup | Woomera |
|
|
Jun 6, 1970 | Europa 1 |
|
satellite mockup | Woomera |
|
|
Nov 5, 1971 | Europa 2 |
|
satellite mockup | Kourou |
[edit] References
- Bleeker, J. A. M., M. Huber, and Johannes Geiss (2001). The Century of Space Exploration. Dordrer: Klower Academic Publications.
- Bonnet, R. M. (1998). "Europe's Final Frontier." Forum for Applied Research and Technology. 13.
- (1967). "European Rocket Crashes on Flight." New York Times. August 5.
- Harvey, Brian (2003). Europe's Space Programma: To Ariane and Beyond. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
- Morgan Dan (1969). "Europe's Rocketry Beset By Failure." Washington Post. July 24.
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