VS-40

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VS-40 (Foguete Suborbital VS-40)
VS-40 rocket on display in Brazil
FunctionSounding rocket
Country of originBrazil
Size
Height9.5 m (31 ft)
Diameter1.01 m (3 ft 4 in)
Mass6,800 kg (15,000 lb)
Stages2
Capacity
Payload to sub-orbital flight
Altitude650 km (400 mi)
Mass500 kg (1,100 lb)
Launch history
StatusActive
Launch sitesAlcântara Space Center, Andøya Space, Barreira do Inferno Launch Center
Total launches3
Failure(s)1[1]
First flight2 April 1993
First stage – S40TM
Gross mass4,200 kg (9,300 lb)
Specific impulse275 seconds (2.70 km/s)
Burn time56 seconds
Second stage – S44M
Gross mass810 kg (1,790 lb)
Maximum thrust33.24 kN (7,470 lbf)
Specific impulse282 seconds (2.77 km/s)
Burn time68 seconds

The VS-40 (Foguete Suborbital VS-40) is a Brazilian sounding rocket using solid fuel and stabilized aerodynamically.

The original version, VS-40, uses the S-40TM (4,200 kg) first stage engine and the S-44M (810 kg) second stage engine.[2][3][4] This configuration corresponds to the upper stages of the VLS-1 rocket.[5]

Version VS-40M used a S-40M engine for the first stage.[4]

Flights[edit]

VS40 performed the following flights:[4][6][7][8][9][10][1][11]

Date Version Flight Site Mission
1993/04/02 VS-40 V01 Alcântara Operação Santa Maria - Qualifying flight for the S44 engine. 760 seconds in micro-gravity.[4]
1998/03/21 VS-40 V02 Alcântara Operação Livramento - VAP-1 (Fokker) payload.[12]
2012/06/22 VS-40M V03 Andøya SHEFEX (Sharp Edge Flight Experiment) II payload.[9][10]
2015/11/13 VS-40M Alcântara Operação São Lourenço - SARA Suborbital 1 (reentry experiment) – Failure (exploded on pad) [6][7][8][1][12]

A flight of VS-40M carrying "SARA Suborbital 2" was planned but eventually cancelled. A future flight of VS-40M carrying HIFiRE 8 is in development.[4]

Characteristics[edit]

VS-40
  • Length (mm) 6725
  • Payload Mass (kg) 500
  • Diameter (mm) 1000
  • Total takeoff mass (kg) 6,737
  • Mass of propellant (kg) 5,054
  • Structural mass (kg) 1,028
  • Apogee (km) 650
  • Microgravity time (s) 760

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Brasileira, Força Aérea. "Projeto SARA continua, afirma Diretor de Ciência e Tecnologia Aeroespacial". Força Aérea Brasileira.
  2. ^ "O Foguete de sondagem VS-40". www.iae.cta.br. 2011. Archived from the original on 14 December 2011.
  3. ^ "VS-40". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e "S-40 Family". space.skyrocket.de.
  5. ^ "VS-40 - IAE". iae.dcta.mil.br. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  6. ^ a b "Projeto SARA". www.iae.cta.br. 2011. Archived from the original on 14 December 2011.
  7. ^ a b "ANÁLISE DA ESTRUTURA INTERNA DO MÓDULO DE EXPERIMENTOS DO SARA SUBORBITAL" (PDF). www.inicepg.univap.br. 2008. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  8. ^ a b "Alcântara sedia encontro que discute atividade espacial no País". Governo do Brasil.
  9. ^ a b "Sounding Rocket Campaigns « Andøya Rocket Range". Archived from the original on 2012-06-26. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
  10. ^ a b [1][dead link]
  11. ^ "VS-40 - IAE". iae.dcta.mil.br. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  12. ^ a b Fan, Ricardo (2015-11-13). "FAB lança foguete VS-40 nesta sexta-feira". DefesaNet (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-12-03.

External links[edit]