Saphir (rocket)

Saphir VE231 (French, meaning sapphire) was a French sounding rocket. It was part of the "pierres précieuses" ("precious stones") family of launch vehicles. Saphir was used between 1965 and 1967 and had a payload capacity of 365 kilograms (805 lb). The rocket could reach a maximum altitude of 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) and produced thrust of 280 kilonewtons (63,000 lbf) at launch. Saphir had a launch mass of 18,058 kilograms (39,811 lb), a diameter of 1.40 metres (4 ft 7 in) and a length of 17.77 metres (58.3 ft).[1]

Not to be confused with Safir.
Saphir
A diagram of the Saphir rocket
FunctionSounding rocket
ManufacturerSEREB
Country of originFrance
Size
Height17.77 metres (58.3 ft)
Diameter1.40 metres (4 ft 7 in)
Mass18,058 kilograms (39,811 lb)
Stages2
Associated rockets
FamilyPierres Précieuses
("Precious Stones")
DerivativesDiamant
Launch history
StatusRetired
Launch sitesCIEES/Hammaguira
Total launches15
Successes13
Failures2
First flight5 July 1965
Last flight27 January 1967
First stage – Emeraude
Engines4 Vexin-B
Thrust301.55 kilonewtons (67,790 lbf)
Specific impulse251 seconds
Burn time93 seconds
FuelN2O4/UDMH
Second stage – Topaze
Thrust120 kilonewtons (27,000 lbf)
Specific impulse255 seconds
Burn time39 seconds
FuelN2O4/UDMH

Saphir was launched 15 times, from July 5, 1965 to January 27, 1967. The Diamant rocket, which carried the first French satellite, Asterix-1, into orbit, was developed from the Saphir with the addition of a third stage. After the successful launch of Diamant, Saphir rockets were used to test technologies for France's burgeoning intercontinental ballistic missile development—namely radio and inertial guidance, warhead separation, and ablative heat shielding of a re-entry vehicle.[1][2]

See also

References
  1. Wade, Mark. "Saphir VE231". Astronautix. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  2. Serra, Jean Jacques. "The Precious Stones". Sat-Net. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
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