Astérix (satellite)

Astérix is the name of the first French satellite. He was taken on November 26, 1965 by Hammaguir with a rocket from the type A diamond in an orbit where it should be located today, as his passive life should be (time to re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere ) for several centuries. The 42 -pound Astérix was the first without the participation of the United States or the former Soviet Union launched satellite of the Earth. He sent, despite a damaged antenna at the opening, two days signals.

The satellite, whose production name was A-1 ( A for armée ), was named by the design team after the comic hero Asterix. France, making it the eighth nation that sent a satellite into space.