France Launches Its First Rocket
On November 26, 1965, France made a significant leap in space exploration by launching its first rocket, marking its entry into the realm of outer space and becoming the third nation to achieve this milestone. This initiative followed the establishment of the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) in 1961, which aimed to enhance France's capabilities in space research and technology. The launch utilized the Diamant rocket to send a 92-pound satellite named Asterix into orbit from a site in Algeria. Asterix was equipped with a radio transmitter and represented the first in a series of satellites planned by CNES. This event was notable not only for its technical achievement but also for its symbolic significance, as France surpassed the United Kingdom, which did not launch its first satellite until 1971. The successful launch underscored France's growing ambitions in the competitive landscape of global space exploration, previously dominated by the United States and the Soviet Union.
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France Launches Its First Rocket
France Launches Its First Rocket
On November 26, 1965, France launched its first rocket, becoming the third country on Earth to enter outer space.
France joined the budding field of space exploration, dominated until then by the United States and the Soviet Union, in 1961, when it founded the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES, or National Center for Space Studies). After a series of test rockets were launched, CNES used a newly developed Diamant (French for “diamond”) rocket on November 26, 1965, to launch a 92-pound satellite into orbit from a facility located in Algeria. The satellite, named Asterix, contained a radio transmitter and was designed to be the first in a series of orbital satellites to be launched by CNES. The French beat their old adversaries, the British, into space by approximately six years, as the United Kingdom did not launch its first satellite until 1971.