Orión was the designation of a sounding rocket family of Argentina, which was launched between 1965 and 1971 at CELPA (El Chamical), CELPA (Mar Chiquita), Tartagal and Wallops Island. Developed by the Instituto de Investigaciones Aeronauticas y Espaciales (IIAE), An Orión flight on August 13, 1966 that reached an apogee of 114 km, surpassing the Kármán line, made Argentina the first South American nation to launch a rocket into space.
Orión-1
The first version Orión-1 was flown twice in 1965 and 1966 from CELPA (El Chamical), in order to test the engines and technologies. It had a length of 3.00 m (9.84 ft), a diameter of 21 cm (8.3 in) and a weight of 100-kilogram (220 lb). Apogee was 80 km (50 mi) for a 10-kilogram (22 lb) payload. Solid fuel mass was 55-kilogram (121 lb) with a burn time of 12 seconds.
Launches Table of Orión-1 launches:
Gallery
Orión-2
In November 1966, three tests of the updated Orión-2 took place from Wallops Island. This version had a gross takeoff mass of 100 kg (220 lb) and could carry a 25-kilogram (55 lb) payload to an apogee of 160 km (99 mi). Its dimensions were 3.77 m (12.4 ft) in length and 21 cm (8.3 in) in diameter. Orión-2 was launched 22 times from 1966 to 1971. Besides Wallops, launch sites included CELPA (El Chamical), CELPA (Mar Chiquita) and Tartagal.
Launches Table of Orión-2 launches:
Gallery
References