Agate (rocket)

VE110 Agate was the name of a French test rocket early to mid -1960s (June 3, 1961 to April 20, 1964 ). The Agate has a length of 8.50 meters, a diameter of 0.80 meters, a launch mass of 3.2 tons, a takeoff thrust of 186 kN and a maximum altitude of 20 km. The Agate was started by Hammaguir and the Ile de Levant to test instrument capsules and recovery systems ( Agate R / VE110RR ). The Agate was uncontrolled and starting point for the development of rocket diamond. The basis was the one NA801 Mammouth used.

It belonged to the French VE ( Vehicles Experimental ) program for the development of air, silo or submarine -based ICBM, which included the VE8, VE9, VA10 Aigle, VE111 Topaze, Emeraude VE121, VE210 VE231 Rubis and Saphir. These missiles were developed in 1959 on the instructions of de Gaulle founded in September 1959 by the company SEREB ( Société pour l' étude et la réalisation d' engins balistiques ).