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The Dragon is a two-stage French solid propellant[3] sounding rocket used for high altitude research between 1962 and 1973.[4][5][6][7][8] It belonged thereby to a family of solid-propellant rockets derived from the Bélier, including the Centaure, the Dauphin and the Éridan.[9]
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The dragon's first stage was a Stromboli engine (diameter 56 cm) which burned 675 kg of propellant in 16 seconds and so produced a maximum thrust of 88 kN.[9] Versions of the Bélier engine were used as upper stages.[9]
A payload of 30 to 120 kg could be carried on parabolic with apogees between 440 km (270 mi) (Dragon-2B)[6] and 560 km (340 mi)(Dragon-3)[7]
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The Dragon was built in several versions including the Dragon-2B, and Dragon-3:[6][7][9]
| Version | Stages | Gross mass (kg) | Height (m) | Diameter (m) | Apogee (km) | Payload (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon | Stromboli + Belier I | 1157 | 7.10 | 0.56 | 475 | 60 |
| Dragon-2B | Stromboli + Belier II | 1200 | 7 | 0.56 | 440 | |
| Dragon-3 | Stromboli + Belier III | 1190 | 8.16 | 0.56 | 560 | 60 |
Dragons have been launched from Andøya, Biscarrosse, Dumont d'Urville, CELPA (El Chamical), CIEES, Kerguelen Islands, Kourou, Salto di Quirra, Sonmiani, Thumba, and Vík í Mýrdal between 1962 and 1973.[5][4][6][7]
| Date | Launch Site | Launch Complex | Launch Vehicle | Mission Description | Nation | Agency | Apogee (km) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 December 5 | Hammaguira | Hammaguira Bacchus | Dragon 1 | Failure | France | CNES | 80 |
| 1963 April 26 | Hammaguira | Hammaguira Bacchus | Dragon 1 | Failure | France | CNES | 58 |
| 1963 October 30 | Hammaguira | Hammaguira Bacchus | Dragon 1 | Test mission | France | CNES | 470 |
| 1964 February 10 | Hammaguira | Hammaguira Bacchus | Dragon 1 | Test mission | France | CNES | 470 |
| 1964 April 11 | Hammaguira | Hammaguira Bacchus | Dragon 1 | FU-104B Probe / Na Aeronomy mission | France | CNES | 400 |
| 1964 April 13 | Hammaguira | Hammaguira Bacchus | Dragon 1 | FU-104B Probe / Na Aeronomy mission | France | CNES | 425 |
| 1964 August 1 | Vik | - | Dragon 1 | FU-125 ionosphere / particles Aeronomy /ionosphere mission | France | CNES | 440 |
| 1964 August 7 | Vik | - | Dragon 1 | FU-125 ionosphere / particles Aeronomy /ionosphere mission | France | CNES | 420 |
| 1964 December 3 | Hammaguira | Hammaguira Bacchus | Dragon 1 | FU-103B MPE Ba-11 Aeronomy mission | France | CNES | 390 |
| 1965 August 24 | Vik | - | Dragon 1 | FU-146 / VLF Aeronomy /ionosphere mission | France | CNES | 440 |
| 1965 September 3 | Vik | - | Dragon 1 | FU-146 / VLF Aeronomy /ionosphere mission | France | CNES | 451 |
| 1965 November 20 | Hammaguira | Hammaguira Bechar | Dragon 1 | MPE Ba-16? Aeronomy mission | France | CNES | 404 |
| 1966 January 21 | Hammaguira | Hammaguira Bacchus | Dragon 1 | FU-133 Sodium release Aeronomy mission | France | CNES | 500 |
| 1966 May 4 | Hammaguira | Hammaguira Bacchus | Dragon 1 | FU-130 Lyra alpha Aeronomy / chemical / lyra-alpha spectrometry mission | France | CNES | 440 |
| 1966 May 12 | Hammaguira | Hammaguira Bacchus | Dragon 1 | FU-130 Lyra alpha Aeronomy mission | France | CNES | 464 |
| 1966 May 23 | Hammaguira | Hammaguira Bacchus | Dragon 1 | FU-131 Atomic Hydrogen Aeronomy mission | France | CNES | 460 |
| 1966 May 26 | Andoya | - | Dragon 1 | Failure | France | CNES | 230 |
| 1966 June 1 | Andoya | - | Dragon 1 | FU-153 ionosphere / particles Ionosphere mission | France | CNES | 380 |
| 1966 June 14 | Hammaguira | Hammaguira Bacchus | Dragon 1 | FU-131 Atomic Hydrogen Aeronomy mission | France | CNES | 480 |
| 1966 June 15 | Hammaguira | Hammaguira Bacchus | Dragon 1 | FU-131 Sodium release Aeronomy mission | France | CNES | 500 |
| 1966 June 16 | Andoya | - | Dragon 1 | Failure | France | CNES | 60 |
| 1966 October 17 | Andoya | - | Dragon 1 | FU-165 Ions / Electric Field Ionosphere mission | France | CNES | 387 |
| 1967 January 25 | Dumont d'Urville | - | Dragon 1 | FU-145B ionosphere / particles Ionosphere mission | France | CNES | 340 |
| 1967 January 28 | Dumont d'Urville | - | Dragon 1 | FU-151 ionosphere / particles Ionosphere mission | France | CNES | 310 |
| 1967 January 29 | Dumont d'Urville | - | Dragon 1 | FU-151 ionosphere / particles Ionosphere mission | France | CNES | 320 |
| 1967 January 29 | Dumont d'Urville | - | Dragon 1 | FU-151 ionosphere / particles Ionosphere mission | France | CNES | 340 |
| 1967 May 5 | Sonmiani | - | Dragon 1 | Shahpar-1 test | Pakistan | SUPARCO | 423 |
| 1967 October 4 | Andoya | - | Dragon 1 | ESRO D34 / 1 Solar x-ray / aeronomy mission | Europe | ESRO | 248 |
| 1967 October 7 | Andoya | - | Dragon 1 | ESRO D30 / 1 Solar x-ray / aeronomy mission | Europe | ESRO | 233 |
| 1967 October 10 | Andoya | - | Dragon 1 | Failure | Europe | ESRO | 1.00 |
| 1968 February 14 | Biscarosse | - | Dragon 1 | FU-172 Solar Helium Solar ultraviolet mission | France | CNES | 440 |
| 1968 March 29 | Sonmiani | - | Dragon 1 | Shahpar-2 test | Pakistan | SUPARCO | 420 |
| 1968 May 22 | Salto di Quirra | - | Dragon 1 | Failure | Europe | ESRO | 225 |
| 1969 March 17 | Kourou | Kourou ALFS | Dragon 1 | FU-172 Solar EUV 1 Solar extreme ultraviolet mission | France | CNES | 410 |
| 1969 September 20 | Thumba | - | Dragon 1 | ISRO 26.01 Ionosphere mission | India | ISRO | 400 |
| 1970 May 6 | Mar Chiquita | - | Dragon 1 | Electron density Test / plasma / fields mission | France | CNES | 430 |
| 1972 December 13 | CELPA | - | Dragon 1 | FU-206 Protons / electrons Ionosphere / geocorona mission | France | CNES | 380 |
| 1968 March 15 | Kerguelen | - | Dragon 2B | FU-171 VLF / Ions Ionosphere mission - | France | CNES | 400 |
| 1968 March 27 | Kerguelen | - | Dragon 2B | FU-171 VLF / Ions Ionosphere mission - | France | CNES | 400 |
| 1968 April 1 | Kerguelen | - | Dragon 2B | FU-171 VLF / Ions Ionosphere mission - | France | CNES | 416 |
| 1968 November 3 | Andoya | - | Dragon 2B | FU-182 Ions / Electric field Ionosphere mission - | France | CNES | 414 |
| 1969 February 6 | Biscarosse | - | Dragon 2B | FU-180 Mass spectrometer F1 Ionosphere mission - | France | CNES | 430 |
| 1969 February 6 | Biscarosse | - | Dragon 2B | FU-180 Mass spectrometer F2 Ionosphere mission - | France | CNES | 405 |
| 1969 February 6 | Biscarosse | - | Dragon 2B | FU-180 Mass spectrometer F3 Ionosphere mission - | France | CNES | 430 |
| 1969 February 7 | Biscarosse | - | Dragon 2B | FU-180 Mass spectrometer F4 Ionosphere mission - | France | CNES | 413 |
| 1969 April 13 | Andoya | - | Dragon 2B | FU-182 Ions / Electric field Ionosphere mission - | France | CNES | 399 |
| 1969 April 17 | Andoya | - | Dragon 2B | FU-190 E field / Barium release Ionosphere / barium release mission - | France | CNES | 329 |
| 1972 April 28 | Sonmiani | - | Dragon 2B | Shahpar-3 Test / ionosphere mission - | Pakistan | SUPARCO | 400 |
| 1968 July 23 | Biscarosse | Dragon 3 | FU-188 Technology test | France | CNES | 562 | |
| 1969 April 26 | Kourou | Kourou ALFS | Dragon 3 | FU-188 Technology test | France | CNES | 410 |
| 1969 May 27 | Biscarosse | Dragon 3 | Failure | France | CNES | 100 | |
| 1969 November 18 | Biscarosse | Dragon 3 | FU-192 Plasma Ionosphere mission | France | CNES | 475 | |
| 1970 October 6 | Biscarosse | Dragon 3 | EIDI-1 Ionosphere mission | France | CNES | 480 | |
| 1970 October 22 | Biscarosse | Dragon 3 | EIDI-2 Ionosphere mission | France | CNES | 480 | |
| 1973 February 17 | Biscarosse | Dragon 3 | FU-211 EIDI-3 Ionosphere mission | France | CNES | 460 |
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