Page 8 - Italy In Space
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ESRO - SALTO DI QUIRRA
The Salto di Quirra range is located in Sardinia, close to the village of Perdasdefogu in a mountainous
area at S-E of the island. It is an inter-arm range, under the authority of the Italian Air Force. At the
beginning of the „60s it was used for the first sounding rockets launches, carried out by the CRA
(Centro Ricerche Aerospaziali) in co-operation with the Italian Air Force and with NASA. From 1964
and until 1972 sounding rockets were launched for the ESRO program.
November 26,1966. Launch of Skylark rocket with payload S-11, carrying experiments by Royal
Observatory of Edinbourg (UK) and Physics Institute of Bologna (IT): the largest and heaviest payload
yet launched. The launch failed and only reached the high of 2,5 km. A double-ring canceling device
was initially in use at the Perdasdefogu post-office, which was the nearest office in the area.
May 26,1967. Launch of a Dragon rocket with French payload R79, to study the upper atmosphere.
The launch, initially scheduled on May 22 was postponed.
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