Europa (rocket)
 | This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (September 2009) |
 Europa II rocket | |
| 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 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to GTO | Europa I: 200 kg Europa II: 360 kg |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | LA-6, Woomera CECLES, CSG (Kourou) |
| Total launches | 11 5 Blue Streak 2 Blue Streak/Coralie 3 Europa I 1 Europa II |
| Success(es) | 4 4 Blue Streak |
| Failure(s) | 7 1 Blue Streak 2 Blue Streak/Coralie 3 Europa I 1 Europa II |
| First 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 (1.67267 MN) |
| Specific impulse | 282 s |
| Burn time | 156 seconds |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
| Second stage (Optional) Coralie (rocket) | |
| Engines | 4 Vexin-A |
| Thrust | 28,000 kgf |
| Specific impulse | 277 s |
| Burn time | 96 seconds |
| Propellant | UDMH/N2O4 |
| Third stage - Astris (rocket) | |
| Engines | 1 Astris |
| Thrust | 2,380 kgf (23.3 kN) |
| Specific impulse | 310 sec |
| Burn time | 330 seconds |
| Propellant | N2O4/Aerozine-50 |
| Fourth stage - P068 (Europa II) | |
| Engines | 1 Solid |
| Thrust | TBC |
| Burn time | TBC |
| Propellant | 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 4 successive projects :
- Europa 1: 4 unsuccessful launches
- Europa 2: 1 unsuccessful launch
- Europa 3: Cancelled before any launch occurred
- Europa 4: Study only, later cancelled
The project was marred by technical problems. Although the first stage (the British Blue Streak) launched successfully on each occasion, it was the second or third stage that failed.
Background
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2009) |
Project history
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2009) |
Europa rocket launches
| Flight | Date | Model | Stages | Payload | Launch site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 5, 1964 | Blue Streak | - | Woomera | ||
| October 20, 1964 | Blue Streak | - | Woomera | ||
| March 22, 1965 | Blue Streak | - | Woomera | ||
| May 24, 1966 | Blue Streak | upper stage mockups | Woomera | ||
| November 15, 1966 | Blue Streak | upper stage mockups | Woomera | ||
| August 4, 1967 | Coralie | third stage mockup | Woomera | ||
| December 5, 1967 | Coralie | 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 |
Notes
References
- Bleeker, J. A. M., M. Huber, and Johannes Geiss (2001). The Century of Space Exploration. Dordrer: Klower Academic Publications.
- Bonnet, R. M. (1998). "Europe's Final Frontier." Forum for Applied Research and Technology. 13.
- (1967). "European Rocket Crashes on Flight." New York Times. August 5.
- Harvey, Brian (2003). Europe's Space Programma: To Ariane and Beyond. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
- Morgan Dan (1969). "Europe's Rocketry Beset By Failure." Washington Post. July 24.
 | This rocketry article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |