Vesta

The Vesta sounding rocket, conceived in 1962 by the Laboratoire de recherches balistiques et aérodynamiques (LRBA), a specialized French Army research facility focused on liquid-propelled rocket development. The initial letter "V" in its name is derived from the city of Vernon. It was the outcome of an initiative by CNES with the purpose of enabling transportation of more substantial experiments to greater altitudes than the Véronique sounding rocket, also created by the LRBA and in active service at the time. Technical details Operated by a 160 kN thrust engine using a combination of nitric acid and turpentine as propellants, the Vesta rocket was 10.2 meters tall with a diameter of 1 meter. Weighing 5.1 tons excluding its payload, Vesta had the capability to send a 500 kg to an altitude of 400 km.