Topaze (Véhicule Expérimental 111 Topaze) is the designation of a French sounding rocket. The Topaze was developed by several French companies, notably Nord Aviation and Sud Aviation, and built by SEREB (a joint venture of Nord and Sud, now known as Aérospatiale) and was the first guidable French sounding rocket. It was part of the Pierres précieuses (fr.: gemstones) program, that included five prototypes Agathe, Topaze, Emeraude, Rubis and Saphir, leading up to the Diamant orbital rocket. The name indicates that it is a "Véhicule Expérimental" (Experimental Vehicle) with 1 stage, using solid propulsion (code 1), and guided (code 1). The Topaze was launched 14 times from the CIEES launch site in Hammaguir (Hammaguira Bacchus pad), Algeria, by ONERA.

Versions

There were three versions of the Topaze:

Topaze VE111 / Topaze VE111C

Details

Launches

There were launches between 1962 and 1964, reaching an apogee of 80 km (49 mi).

Topaze VE111L

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Launches

Topaze VE111LG

Details

Launches

This version was launched two times in 1965.

Other uses

The Topaze was also used as the second stage of the Diamant rocket, the launch vehicle for France's first satellite, the Asterix-1, and the Saphir rocket.