Hammaguir | |
|---|---|
Village and air base | |
  Hammaguir | |
| Coordinates:30°54′N3°2′W / 30.900°N 3.033°W /30.900; -3.033 | |
| Country |  Algeria |
| Province | Béchar Province |
| District | Abadla District |
| Elevation | 744 m (2,441 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
Hammaguir (also writtenHamaguir andHammaguira) (Arabic:حماقير) is a village inAbadla District,Béchar Province,Algeria, south-west ofBéchar. It lies on the N50 national highway between Béchar andTindouf. The location is notable for its role inFrenchrocketry.[1]
Hamaguir Airport is located there.[2]
Between 1947 and 1967 there was arocketlaunch site, theInterarmy Special Vehicles Test Centre (abbreviated CIEES inFrench), near Hammaguir, used byFrance for launchingsounding rockets and the satellite carrier"Diamant" between 1965 and 1967. The Diamant launch pad at Hammaguir is located at30° 46′ 41″ N, 3° 3′ 14″ W. The CIEES facility was also used for testingsurface-to-air andair-to-air missiles.[3]
The first French satelliteAstérix was launched from there in 1965.[3]
In honor of its role in the early development of French spaceflight, its name was given to aMartian crater in 1979[4] and to anasteroid crater in 2009.[5]
| Date of launch | Satellite | Payload mass | Support rocket | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 October 1963 | Félicette (cat) | 15 kg | Véronique | [6] |
| 26 November 1965 | Astérix-1 | 40 kg | Diamant | [1] |
| 8 February 1967 | Diadéme-1 | 22.7 kg | Diamant | [1] |
| 15 February 1967 | Diadéme-2 | 22.7 kg | Diamant | [1] |
Hammaguir has a hotdesert climate, with extremely hot summers and cool winters, and very little precipitation throughout the year.
| Climate data for Hammaguir | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 17.1 (62.8) | 20.3 (68.5) | 23.7 (74.7) | 28.4 (83.1) | 33.2 (91.8) | 38.0 (100.4) | 42.6 (108.7) | 41.2 (106.2) | 35.3 (95.5) | 28.8 (83.8) | 21.6 (70.9) | 17.6 (63.7) | 29.0 (84.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 9.8 (49.6) | 12.8 (55.0) | 16.2 (61.2) | 20.6 (69.1) | 25.3 (77.5) | 30.0 (86.0) | 34.3 (93.7) | 33.3 (91.9) | 27.9 (82.2) | 21.7 (71.1) | 15.0 (59.0) | 10.7 (51.3) | 21.5 (70.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2.5 (36.5) | 5.3 (41.5) | 8.8 (47.8) | 12.9 (55.2) | 17.4 (63.3) | 22.1 (71.8) | 26.1 (79.0) | 25.4 (77.7) | 20.6 (69.1) | 14.6 (58.3) | 8.5 (47.3) | 3.8 (38.8) | 14.0 (57.2) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 5 (0.2) | 5 (0.2) | 7 (0.3) | 5 (0.2) | 4 (0.2) | 3 (0.1) | 3 (0.1) | 4 (0.2) | 6 (0.2) | 9 (0.4) | 11 (0.4) | 6 (0.2) | 68 (2.7) |
| Source: climate-data.org[7] | |||||||||||||
Places adjacent to Hammaguir | |
|---|---|
Capital:Béchar | ||
| Béchar District | .svg) | |
| Abadla District | ||
| Béni Abbès District | ||
| Béni Ounif District | ||
| El Ouata District | ||
| Igli District | ||
| Kénadsa District | ||
| Kerzaz District | ||
| Lahmar District | ||
| Ouled Khodeïr District | ||
| Tabelbala District | ||
| Taghit District | ||
