Argentine Rocketeering History
The development of rocketry began in the 1960s. The first rocket was launched from Pampa de Achala, Córdoba. The development of rocketry began in the 1960s. The first rocket was launched from Pampa de Achala, Córdoba.
It was the Alfa Centauro. It was February 2, 1961.
The then National Commission for Space Activities (CNIE), of the Argentine Air Force, worked in rocketry until the early 1990s.
Chamical, La Rioja, was the launch base. About 70 national rockets were launched from there in 30 years.
The Centauro series was later followed by Canopus, Orion and Rigel. The Beavers, in the 1970s, were the most powerful space vehicles.
They were eight meters high and weighed 1,200 kilos and could carry a payload of 70 kilos at a height of 480 kilometers. They used solid fuel.
Then came the Condor II project (16 meters and 2.5 tons), which changed its objective to become a war rocket, a missile.
The program was canceled due to pressure from the United States on then-president Carlos Menem.
Much of those human resources and knowledge were lost.
Conae resumed rocketry development in the first years of this new century.
Meanwhile, Chamical saw activity again thanks to the tests of the Gradicom II, a missile for war or other uses, developed by the Ministry of Defense of the Nation. It weighs almost a ton and measures more than seven meters.
Source: La Voz del Interior Newspaper 8/15/2012
Días de Historia
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