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| Europa LV - Europa launch vehicle Credit: ESA. 12,639 bytes. 131 x 407 pixels. |
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Family: Ariane. Country: UK. Status: Hardware.
Europe's first space launcher. First stage British Blue Streak IRBM, second stage French, third stage German. All orbital launch attempts failed due to unreliability of third stage. Project cancelled after withdrawal of British support and replaced by Ariane.
SpecificationsLaunches: 11. Failures: 6. Success Rate: 45.45% pct. First Launch Date: 05 June 1964. Last Launch Date: 05 November 1971. Payload: 200 kg. to a: geosynchronous orbital trajectory. Liftoff Thrust: 150,000 kgf. Total Mass: 104,670 kg. Core Diameter: 3.1 m. Total Length: 33.0 m. Flyaway Unit Cost $: 17.00 million. in 1985 unit dollars.
- Stage Number: 1. 1 x Europa-1 Gross Mass: 89,406 kg. Empty Mass: 6,997 kg. Thrust (vac): 170,565 kgf. Isp: 282 sec. Burn time: 156 sec. Isp(sl): 248 sec. Diameter: 3.1 m. Span: 3.8 m. Length: 18.8 m. Propellants: Lox/Kerosene No Engines: 2. RZ.2
- Stage Number: 2. 1 x Europa-2 Gross Mass: 11,894 kg. Empty Mass: 2,099 kg. Thrust (vac): 28,000 kgf. Isp: 277 sec. Burn time: 96 sec. Isp(sl): 240 sec. Diameter: 2.0 m. Span: 2.0 m. Length: 5.7 m. Propellants: N2O4/UDMH No Engines: 4. Vexin A
- Stage Number: 3. 1 x Europa-3 Gross Mass: 3,370 kg. Empty Mass: 610 kg. Thrust (vac): 2,380 kgf. Isp: 310 sec. Burn time: 330 sec. Isp(sl): 260 sec. Diameter: 2.0 m. Span: 2.0 m. Length: 3.4 m. Propellants: N2O4/Aerozine-50 No Engines: 1. Astris
Europa Chronology
1961 Jan 30 -
1961 Nov 3 - Launch Site: Woomera .
- Woomera selected for Europa launches.
Nine-nation Western European Conference in London announced decision to launch a satellite in mid-1965, using a British Blue Streak first stage, a French Veronique second stage, and a West German third stage, from the Woomera range in Australia.
1964 Jun 5 - LV Configuration: Europa-1 (1 stage). Launch Site: Woomera .
- Research and Development Flight
Suborbital.
1964 Oct 1 - LV Configuration: Europa-1 (1 stage). Launch Site: Woomera .
- Research and Development Flight
Suborbital.
1965 Mar 1 - LV Configuration: Europa-1 (1 stage). Launch Site: Woomera .
- Research and Development Flight
 | Europa Credit: © Mark Wade. 1,008 bytes. 41 x 330 pixels. |
Suborbital.
1966 May 24 - LV Configuration: Europa-1 (1 stage). Launch Site: Woomera .
- Research and Development Flight
Suborbital.
1966 Nov 15 - LV Configuration: Europa-1 (1 stage). Launch Site: Woomera .
- Research and Development Flight
Suborbital.
1967 Aug 4 - LV Configuration: Europa-1 (2 stage). Launch Site: Woomera . FAILURE: Second stage failed.
- Research and Development Flight
 | Blue Streak Credit: British Aerospace. 15,917 bytes. 173 x 386 pixels. |
Suborbital.
1967 Dec 5 - LV Configuration: Europa-1 (2 stage). Launch Site: Woomera . FAILURE: Second stage failed.
- Research and Development Flight
Suborbital.
1968 Nov 29 - - 23:12 GMT. LV Configuration: Europa I s/n F-7. Launch Site: Woomera . Launch Complex: LA6A. FAILURE: Third stage failed.
- STV 1 Spacecraft: STV. Mass: 249 kg.
Satellite Test Vehicle.
 | Europa 2L Credit: ESA. 18,454 bytes. 221 x 323 pixels. |
1969 Jul 2 - - 22:55 GMT. LV Configuration: Europa I s/n F-8. Launch Site: Woomera . Launch Complex: LA6A. FAILURE: Third stage failed.
- STV 2 Spacecraft: STV. Payload: STV 2.
1970 Jun 12 - - 01:10 GMT. LV Configuration: Europa I s/n F-9. Launch Site: Woomera . Launch Complex: LA6A. FAILURE: Payload fairing failed to seperate.
1971 Nov 5 - - 13:00 GMT. LV Configuration: Europa II s/n F-11. Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Complex: ELE. FAILURE: Structural failure of Third stage. Guidance signals were reversed.
Bibliography:- 34 - Gatland, Kenneth, Missiles and Rockets, Macmillan, New York, 1975.
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Last update 12 March 2001.
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© Mark Wade, 2001 .
