Astérix and the Diamant launcher (France, third space power)
Astérix y el lanzador Diamant (Francia, tercera potencia espacial)
- Date
- 26 de noviembre de 1965 · confidence high
- Place
- Hammaguir, Béchar, Algeria
- Credited to
- CNES and the Laboratoire de Recherches Balistiques et Aérodynamiques (France)
- Field
- Movement
What it is
France put the A-1 Astérix satellite in orbit with its own Diamant A rocket from a military base in the Algerian Sahara. It was the third country to launch a satellite with its own means.
Hammaguir was used until Algerian independence (1967). The coordinates are approximate.
What it led to
- creation of the Kourou base in French Guiana
- continuity with the European Europa programme and then Ariane
- the first national launcher in Western Europe