| Orión | |
| Country Of Origin: | Argentina |
| Designer: | Instituto de Investigaciones Aeronauticas y Espaciales |
| Date: | 1965 |
| Status: | Retired |
| Type: | sounding rocket |
Orión was the designation of a sounding rocket of Argentina, which was launched between 1965 and 1971 at CELPA (El Chamical), CELPA (Mar Chiquita), Tartagal and Wallops Island.[1]
Developed by the Instituto de Investigaciones Aeronauticas y Espaciales (IIAE),[2] Orión marked Argentina's entry into the club of space-faring nations, with a flight on 13 August 1966 that reached an apogee of 114 km surpassing the Kármán line.[3]
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, a diameter of and a weight of 100kg (200lb). Apogee was for a 10kg (20lb) payload.[4] Solid fuel mass was 55kg (121lb) with a burn time of 12 seconds.[5]
In November 1966, three tests of the updated Orión-2 took place from Wallops Island.[6]
This version had a gross takeoff mass of and could carry a 25kg (55lb) payload to an apogee of . Its dimensions were in length and in diameter.[7]
Orión-2 was launched 22 times from 1966 to 1971. Besides Wallops, launch sites included CELPA (El Chamical), CELPA (Mar Chiquita) and Tartagal.
Table of Orión launches:
| Date | Launch Site | Launch Vehicle | Mission Type | Apogee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 October 1 | CELPA | Orión-1 | Test mission | 90 km (55 mi) | |
| 1966 May 19 | CELPA | Orión-2 | Test mission | 100 km (60 mi) | |
| 1966 July 1 | CELPA | Orión-1 | Test mission | 90 km (55 mi) | |
| 1966 August 13 | CELPA | Orión-2 | Test mission | 114 km (70 mi) | |
| 1966 September 1 | CELPA | Orión-2 | Test mission | 90 km (55 mi) | |
| 1966 November 4 | Wallops Island | Orión-2 | Test mission | 90 km (55 mi) | |
| 1966 November 7 | Wallops Island | Orión-2 | Failure | 0 km (0 mi) | |
| 1966 November 9 | Wallops Island | Orión-2 | Test mission | 82 km (50 mi) | |
| 1966 November 12 | Tartagal | Orión-2 | Eclipse mission | 90 km (55 mi) | |
| 1966 November 12 | Tartagal | Orión-2 | Eclipse mission | 90 km (55 mi) | |
| 1966 November 12 | Tartagal | Orión-2 | Eclipse mission | 90 km (55 mi) | |
| 1967 May 19 | CELPA | Orión-2 | Rat payload | 90 km (55 mi) | |
| 1967 September 6 | CELPA | Orión-2 | Aeronomy mission | 90 km (55 mi) | |
| 1967 September 7 | CELPA | Orión-2 | Aeronomy mission | 90 km (55 mi) | |
| 1967 September 7 | CELPA | Orión-2 | Aeronomy mission | 90 km (55 mi) | |
| 1967 December 14 | CELPA | Orión-2 | X-ray astronomy mission | 35 km (21 mi) | |
| 1967 December 16 | CELPA | Orión-2 | X-ray astronomy mission | 70 km (43 mi) | |
| 1968 January 24 | Mar Chiquita | Orión-2 | Chemical release mission | 90 km (55 mi) | |
| 1968 November 27 | Mar Chiquita | Orión-2 | Chaff | 56 km (34 mi) | |
| 1969 May 28 | CELPA | Orión-2 | Biological mission | 90 km (55 mi) | |
| 1969 August 30 | CELPA | Orión-2 | X-ray astronomy mission | 90 km (55 mi) | |
| 1969 August 30 | CELPA | Orión-2 | Biological mission | 90 km (55 mi) | |
| 1970 May 3 | Mar Chiquita | Orión-2 | Chemical release/fields mission | 90 km (55 mi) | |
| 1971 December 19 | CELPA | Orión-2 | Test mission | 106 km (65 mi) |