Dauphin (rocket)

The Dauphin is a French sounding rocket, flown six times between 1967 and 1979. It consists of a modification of the first stage of the Dragon with a larger payload nosecone.

The Dauphin has a diameter of 56 centimetres, a launch weight of 1.132 metric tons, a length of 6.21 metres, a takeoff thrust of 90 kN and a ceiling of 150 kilometres.

It belonged to the Stromboli family of solid-propellant rockets including the Belier, the Centaure, and the Dragon, along with the Eridan.

Launches
The first launch occurred on March 20, 1967 from Hammaguira and was a failure. The three next flights, from Ile du Levant and Biscarosse were successful.

On September 14, 1971, a Dauphin rocket was first launched from Kourou, conducting the PHARE (FU-196) Aeronomy mission. A final launch happened on February 8, 1979 to test the Ariane launch range.