Launch Vehicles
Diamant
France
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France's first satellite launch vehicle, developed independently of any alliance and used to launch Asterix in November 1965, making France the third nation, after the Soviet Union and the United States, to orbit a satellite with its own rocket and the only one to do so without either superpower's ICBM heritage behind it.
Facts
Vehicle ClassLight-lift expendable launch vehicle 1 Manufacturer First Flight DateDate of its first successful flight, carrying the Asterix satellite. StatusRetired in 1975; France folded its launch vehicle program into the multinational Ariane effort thereafter. 2 Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Encyclopedia Astronautica
http://astronautix.com/d/diamant.htmlQuote, http://astronautix.com/d/diamant.html
In December 1961 France decided to demonstrate an indigenous satellite-launch capability, using stages in development for its ballistic missile program.
2. European Space Agency: History
European Space Agencyhttps://www.esa.int/About_Us/50_years_of_ESA/The_origins_of_ArianeQuote, https://www.esa.int/About_Us/50_years_of_ESA/The_origins_of_Ariane
France had become the world's third space power with the launch of its Diamant A in 1965.
2. European Space Agency: History
European Space AgencyOperated By: CNES
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