Tibère was a French atmospheric reentry test rocket developed by O.N.E.R.A. (Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales).[1][2][3] It evolved from its predecessor, Bèrènice, with development initiated in 1965 to support the ELECTRE reentry experiment program.[1][4][3] Tibère, standing at a height of 14.5 m and weighing 4.5 tons, operated as a three-stage rocket.[2]
Description
The first stage comprised a SEPR-739-2 Stromboli, that, similar to Bèrènice and Titus, was encircled by four SEPR-P167 stabilization rockets.[1][2][4][3] This was followed by another SEPR-739-2 Stromboli for the second stage, and the third stage housed a P.064 inherited from Diamant A.[1][2][4][3]
The firing of the initial two stages during ascent propelled the upper composite (3rd stage + payload) to reach an altitude of 150 km.[1] The Cassiopée attitude control system precisely oriented the composite before the P.064 motor accelerated it to high speed during descent from 130 to 60 km altitude.[1][3] The experiment itself occurred between 60 and 20 km, lasting ten seconds until the payload destruction.[1]
Launches
Despite the procurement of four Tibère units, only two flights were executed from Biscarrosse, occurring on February 23, 1971, and March 18, 1972.[1][2][3]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Serra, Jean-Jacques (2013-01-15). "Fusées de l'ONERA". Les fusées en Europe. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Wade, Mark (2019). "Tibere". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "La fusée Tibère". Europespace. 1999. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
- 1 2 3 Krebs, Gunter D (2023). "SEPR-739 with upper stages". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-11-13.