Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Encyclopedia

Canopus 2

Argentine sub-orbital sounding rocket

Canopus 2 was a single stage, sub-orbital sounding rocket that was built by Argentina.

01Canopus 1

A first version, Canopus 1, was tested between 1966 and 1967. Canopus 1 was also used as the first stage of the Rigel sounding rocket between 1969 and 1973.

Launches

Canopus 1 was launched two times from CELPA Chamical:

Date Mission Type Nation Apogee
November 1966 Test mission Argentina 40 km
July 1967 Test mission Argentina 40 km
Canopus 1 at Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica
Canopus 1 at Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica

02Canopus 2

Canopus 2 was introduced in 1969. There were a total of three launches during 1969 from CELPA Chamical and CELPA Mar Chiquita with no failures. Another launch happened in 1971 from CELPA Chamical. The launch apogee was 150 kilometres in altitude. The vehicle had a length of 4 metres and launch mass of 300 kilograms. It was capable of lifting a 50 kg payload to an altitude of 100 km, and on some flights had an apogee of 150 kilometres.

Canopus 2 was also used for both stages of Castor A and the second stage of Tauro sounding rocket.

Launches

Canopus 2 was launched four times:

Date Mission Type Nation Apogee
1969 April 16 Test mission Argentina 150 km (90 mi)
1969 October 23 Test mission Argentina 150 km (90 mi)
1969 December 23 Test / biology mission Argentina 150 km (90 mi)
1971 November 5 Argentina
Canopus 2 diagram
Canopus 2 diagram
Watch videos about Canopus 2Explainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Canopus 2, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.