Interarmy Special Vehicles Test Centre | |
|---|---|
Centre Interarmées d'Essais d'Engins Spéciaux (CIEES) | |
| NearHammaguir in French Algeria | |
| Site information | |
| Type |
|
| Owner | French Air Force,French Army |
| Open to the public | No |
| Location | |
  CIEES Location of CIEES inFrench Algeria | |
| Coordinates | 30°46′41″N03°03′19″W / 30.77806°N 3.05528°W /30.77806; -3.05528 (CIEES) |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1947[1] |
| In use | 1952–1967[2] |
| Fate | Abandoned following Algerian independence |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 621st Special Weapons Group, 80th Service Battalion[3] |
| [4] | |
TheCentre Interarmées d'Essais d'Engins Spéciaux (CIEES,lit. 'Interarmy Special Vehicles Test Centre')[5] wasFrance's firstspace launch andballistic missile testing facility. Outside France, the facility is often referred to by the name of the nearest town,Hammaguir.[2] It was established on 24 April 1947,[1][2] by ministerial decree as theSpecial Weapons Test Center (CEES,Centre d'essais d'engins spéciaux) for use by theFrench Army. In 1948, it was turned over to theFrench Air Force, who renamed it CIEES. Its remote location in the middle of theSaharan Desert and its relative closeness to theEquator (compared withMetropolitan France) made it an attractive launch site for missiles and orbital rockets.[4]
The origins of CIEES and the French missile and space program date to the end of theSecond World War. On 12 June 1945, less than a month afterV-E Day, the War Department ordered the study of self-propelled projectiles (rockets). On 13 August, the Directorate of Studies and Manufactures of Armaments (DEFA) proposed the creation of a Rocket Studies Center to continue studying and developing ballistic missiles. The Center aimed initially to attempt toreconstruct theV-2 rocket based on blueprints captured from V-2 launch sites in France. In November 1946, a mission arrived atColomb-Béchar,French Algeria, to study the site's suitability as a missile range and launch facility. CIEES began operations at Colomb-Béchar six months later on 24 April 1947.[6]
The Air Force built two launch pads at Colomb-Béchar: the small B0 pad forsounding rockets, and B1, completed in December 1949, for larger missiles.[2] However, both of these launch sites were suitable only for smaller missiles, so a larger launch pad – dubbed CIEES B2 – was eventually built atHammaguir, 120 kilometres (75 mi) southwest of Colomb-Béchar, in May 1952. CIEES B2 quickly expanded to include five launch pads:Bacchus, for solid fueled sounding rockets,Blandine, for liquid fueled sounding rockets,Beatrice, for testing theHawk surface-to-air missile and theCora andEuropa rockets,Brigette/A, for the "precious stones" series of rockets, andCB, for theMonica sounding rocket.[2]
After theAlgerian War ceasefire in 1962, the2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment was sent to the Colomb-Béchar region. Its main mission is to monitor the CIEES's sites. In 1967, the order to evacuate the site was given and the regiment was the last unit to leave the South for the French base ofMers-el-Kébir.
CIEES remained in use until 1 July 1967,[1] when it was finally turned over to the government of newly independentAlgeria. French withdrawal from the CIEES facility and other military bases in Algeria was stipulated by the 1962Évian Accords that ended theAlgerian War of Independence. Following CIEES's closure, French space launches were moved to theKourou Space Center inFrench Guiana, while missile tests were moved toDGA Essais de missiles in the department ofLandes in metropolitan France.[2][4]
The Director of CIEES was directly appointed by theMinister of the Armed Forces. They were required to also be the Commander of the Colomb-Béchar Airbase (seefr:Base aérienne 145 Colomb-Béchar) and Commander of military installations in the Sahara. The Director was required to be from the Air Force, and the Deputy Director was required to be from the Army. In order, CIEES was commanded by:[3]
As France's main launch site from 1947 to 1967, CIEES was responsible for all early milestones of theFrench space program. France's first successful rocket launch, of theVéronique sounding rocket, was from CIEES on 22 May 1952. France's firstsatellite, theAstérix-1, was launched from CIEES on aDiamant rocket on 26 November 1965.[2] CIEES was also the launch site for France's first animal in space: a cat namedFélicette, launched to an altitude of 157 kilometres (98 mi) on a Véronique rocket. She survived the flight, making her the only cat to do so.[7]
Due to CIEES's long period of operation, it launched a wide variety of rockets and missiles. With regard to space launches, CIEES was most notable for launching the "precious stones" series of rockets, which included theDiamant, the first French rocket to put a satellite into orbit, and the first non-US or Soviet rocket to deliver a satellite to orbit. The "precious stones" rockets also included theEmeraude,Saphir,Rubis,Agate, andTopaze.[2] Other notable spacecraft included the first tests of theEuropa rocket, the first rocket of theEuropean Launcher Development Organisation (the predecessor to the modern Pan-EuropeanEuropean Space Agency)[2] and France's first threegeodetic satellites, theDiadem.[4]
With regard to missiles, CIEES was the launch site for 1960s-era tests associated with the development of France's land-basedmedium-range ballistic missiles – theSBSS missile program – andsubmarine-launched ballistic missiles – theMSBS missile program. It also served as the launch site for testing a myriad of other sounding rockets and anti-aircraft missiles.[4]
CIEES was also the initial launch site for theCT 10 drone, atarget drone copy of theV-1 flying bomb that was widely used by the French and British militaries during the early days of theCold War,[8] as well as the 1950s-eraR.511air-to-air missile.[9]
In total, 231 rockets and missiles were launched from CIEES's seven launch pads over its 20 years of operation.[1]
| Date of launch | Satellite | Payload mass | Carrier rocket | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 October 1963 | Félicette (cat) | 15 kilograms (33 lb) | Véronique | [7][10] |
| 26 November 1965 | Astérix-1 | 40 kilograms (88 lb) | Diamant | [6] |
| 8 February 1967 | Diadème-1 | 23 kilograms (51 lb) | Diamant | [2] |
| 15 February 1967 | Diadème-2 | 23 kilograms (51 lb) | Diamant | [2] |
Launch pads at Colomb-Béchar:
Launch pads at Hammaguir:
