Europa rocket
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| 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 |
| Launch History | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch Sites | LA-6, Woomera 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 |
| Specific Impulse | 282 sec |
| Burn time | 156 seconds |
| Fuel | RP-1/LOX |
| Second Stage (Optional) - Coralie | |
| Engines | 4 Vexin-A |
| Thrust | 28,000 kgf |
| Specific Impulse | 277 sec |
| Burn time | 96 seconds |
| Fuel | UDMH/N2O4 |
| Third Stage - Astris | |
| Engines | 1 Astris |
| Thrust | 2,380 kgf |
| 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 | No. of stages | Payload | Launch site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
June 5, 1964 | Europa 1 |
|
- | Woomera |
|
|
October 20, 1964 | Europa 1 |
|
- | Woomera |
|
|
March 22, 1965 | Europa 1 |
|
- | Woomera |
|
|
May 24, 1966 | Europa 1 |
|
upper stage mockups | Woomera |
|
|
November 15, 1966 | Europa 1 |
|
upper stage mockups | Woomera |
|
|
August 4, 1967 | Europa 1 |
|
third stage mockup | Woomera |
|
|
December 5, 1967 | Europa 1 |
|
third stage mockup | Woomera |
|
|
November 30, 1968 | Europa 1 |
|
third stage mockup | Woomera |
|
|
July 31, 1969 | Europa 1 |
|
satellite mockup | Woomera |
|
|
June 6, 1970 | Europa 1 |
|
satellite mockup | Woomera |
|
|
November 5, 1971 | Europa 2 |
|
satellite mockup | Kourou |
[edit] References
| Current: |
Ariane 5 · Atlas V · Cosmos-3M · Delta II · Delta IV · Dnepr · Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle · H-IIA · Long March · Minotaur · Molniya · Pegasus · Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle · Proton · Rockot · Shavit · Soyuz (U, 2) · Taurus · Tsyklon · Zenit |
|---|---|
| Planned: | |
| Historical: |
Ariane 1 · Ariane 2/3 · Ariane 4 · Atlas ICBM · Atlas II · Atlas III · Black Arrow · Delta III · Diamant · Energia · Europa · H-II · J-I · Juno I · M-V · N1 · R-7 Semyorka · Saturn I · Saturn IB · Saturn V · Saturn INT-21 · Scout · Thor · Titan (I, II, III, IIIB, IV) · Vanguard · Voskhod · Vostok |
 |
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