Titus (rocket)

Titus is the name of a French sounding rocket, which was developed in 1966 for the observation of a total solar eclipse in Argentina.

The Titus was based on the first two stages of the four -stage rocket Berenice. The first stage of Titus consisted of a Stromboli 739, supported by four stabilization launchers from SEPR P167. The second stage was a Stromboli SEPR 740-3. Both stages were working with solid rocket engines. The height of the rocket was 11.5 m, diameter 0.56 m. At 3.4 t launch mass Titus could carry a payload of 400 kg.

With the participation of the Argentine Comisión Nacional de Investigaciones Espaciales Authority ( CNIE ) the only two copies of this missile were launched on 12 November 1966 by the launch site of Las Palmas in the Argentine province of Chaco, in order to observe which takes place on this day eclipse. The rocket reached heights of 274 or 270 km.