ONERA missiles and projects

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ONERA missiles and rockets from an old 1960s magazine:
 

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ONERA Titus rockets:
 

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ONERA Bérénice.

I'm still not sure whether this topic would be more fit in the "Space" section or not.
 

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We don't have much about the Stataltex. That thing hold the airbreathing speed and height records from 1964 until the 1990's, when scramjets were made to work at last (Kholod, X-43, X-51). Stataltex flew at Mach 5 and 39 km (128 000 feet). For the record, in 1958 the X-7A-3 with a RJ59 ramjet hit Mach 4.31 and 106 000 feet.

There were ten Stataltex flights from 1960 to 1964. I've found a (crude) graph of velocities and altitude from the successfull flights (flight 3 and 4 are not present, you bet they were failures: no data; same for flight 10 ?)

From this (huge) paper, mercifully available at the Internet Archive (page 55 of the Pdf)


Sans titre.png

Flight 1 Mach 4+ at 12 km (partial failure ?)
Flight 2 Mach 4.7 at 18 km
Flight 3 --
Flight 4 --
Flight 5 Mach 4.6 up to 39 km
Flight 6 Mach 5 up to 30 km
Flight 7 Mach 4.5 at 12 km (probably a partial failure)
Flight 8 Mach 4,8 at 18 km
Flight 9 Mach 5, 12 km
Flight 10 ? no data
 
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Some date I have found for the flights (doubtful !)

Stataltex
Flight 1 November 28, 1961
Flight 6 December 19, 1961 (doubtful, Flight 5 to 39 km was in 1962)
Flight 10 1964
 
Can't fit the full name of ONERA (Office National d'Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales), or it's original name, Office National d’Études et de Recherches Aéronautiques, into a tag, drats.
 
Grey Havoc said:

Daniel (rocket) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
Click to expand...

The Jericho second stage of the Daniel rocket has absolutely nothing to do with the Israeli missile of the same name.
Jericho was the name of the grain used on the sustainer of the Matra R.422 surface-to-air missile. When the R.422 program was cancelled, the Jericho grain (version 1 and 2) was used by several ONERA rockets, including Daniel.
Jericho IV was then used on the Sud Aviation Belier rocket, second stage of the Centaur and Dragon sounding rockets.
 
Thanks to that wonderful document, we will be able to check whether Stataltex bet the X-7 Mach 4.31 speed record. Translated in m/s that would be 1272 m/s.

Flight 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 did it.

And 1490 m/s is 5364 km/h, with a mach number of 1062 km/h, that's Mach 5.05.

Of course all this is symbolical, they were not chasing speed records. Just wanted to check the absolute airbreathing record velocity before the 1990's when scramjet research returned.
 
Scramjet research was also carried out in earnest in the US during the 1980s, both as part of SDI and NASP in particular, as well as under other mostly still classified projects, a lot of which included work carried out by NASA Langley. From the late 1970s onwards the Soviet Union had already being stepping up its own research on scramjets as well as other combined propulsion systems such as turboramjets.

Interestingly, before the Reagan Administration took office there seems to have been a increased burst of theoretical research on scramjets during the last days of the Carter Administration, but I'm not sure at the moment what that was in relation to.
 
The French national Research and Technology Program for Advanced Hypersonic Propulsion (PREPHA) ended in 1999. It aimed at acquiring a first know-how for the hydrogen-fueled scramjet, which could be combined with other airbreathing modes (particularly ramjet) and rocket mode for powering future reusable space launchers. It gave the opportunity to acquire a first know-how in scramjet and dual-mode ramjet components design (inlet, combustor, injection struts, nozzle) and hypersonic airbreathing vehicle system studies (design and performance evaluation for space launchers, missiles and experimental flight vehicles) [A1]. The French Aeronautics and Space Research Center (ONERA) and EADS Aerospatiale Matra Missiles (now in the new MBD.A Missiles Systems European group and its “MBDA-F” French subsidiary) have been major contributors to the PREPHA Program.

In France, after the end of the National PREPHA program, MBDA-F and ONERA have taken the initiative in starting further works to preserve the intellectual and material investment and to improve mastery of hypersonic airbreathing propulsion. Since 1997, ONERA and DLR are leading the in house research program JAPHAR (Joint Airbreathing Propulsion for Hypersonic Application Research) [A5]. This program aims at studying a hydrogen fueled dual mode ramjet working in the Mach number range from 4 to 8. It also aims at defining a methodology for ground and flight performance demonstration. That includes the definition of a possible experimental vehicle able to autonomously fly in the given Mach number range [A6]. MBDA-F leads a cooperation with Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) to develop a dual-mode dual fuel ramjet, operating from Mach 3 to Mach 12 with a variable geometry. MBDA-F and EADS-Launch Vehicles (EADS-LV) are also developing an innovative technology for fuel-cooled composite material structures. Under the aegis of the French MoD, MBDA-F and ONERA are leading the PROMETHEE R&D program to improve knowledge on hydrocarbon fueled dual mode ramjet for missile application. Its aims at developing a propulsion system able to power a missile from Mach 2 to Mach 8. First phase is expected to end in 2002 [A16].

Previously, in Germany, some cooperative work has been performed with Russia on hypersonic flight testing issues and on scramjet flowpath technology at TsAGI (Jukowsky, Russia).

Contribution to the education of students is also one of the important elements of this scramjet technology effort.Students, young scientists or technicians are often enthusiastic to be associated, even for only several months on scramjet technology development efforts [B10], [B18].
Click to expand...
CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF NATO BACKGROUND ON SCRAMJET TECHNOLOGY
(Seems to be originally from a US originating 2001 AD report or paper, not sure of the exact date but it is pre-9/11)
 
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