Editing Diamant (section)

== Variants ==

=== Diamant A ===
[[File:Fusee Dimant A musee du Bourget P1010586.JPG|thumb|right|Diamant A seen from the [[Payload fairing|fairing]] in [[Musée de l'Air]]]]
[[File:Fusee-Diamant-A-Musee-du-Bourget_P1010661.jpg|thumb|Diamant A seen from the rear end in [[Musée de l'Air]]]]
[[File:LRBA Vexin - Musée Safran.jpg|thumb|Vexin engine used on Diamant A first stage]]
This was the first version of the Diamant rockets, operational between 1965 and 1967.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 29, 2004 |title=Nov. 26, 1965: France Begins Launch Legacy with Diamant |url=https://spacenews.com/nov-26-1965-france-begins-launch-legacy-diamant/ |access-date=2022-08-13 |website=SpaceNews |language=en-US |quote=On Nov. 26, 1965, France launched the 45-kilogram Asterix 1 test satellite aboard its Diamant rocket from the Hammaguir launch base in Algeria. ... The Diamant-A followed its first successful launch with three more launches, flying for the final time in February 1967. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220813232632/https://spacenews.com/nov-26-1965-france-begins-launch-legacy-diamant/ |archive-date=August 13, 2022}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2010-05-27 |title=Diamant |url=http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/diamant.htm |access-date=2024-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527070658/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/diamant.htm |archive-date=2010-05-27 }}</ref> Remarkably for a newly developed system, all of the first four launches attempted launched were partly successful, the only failure occurring on the second launch when the payload was inserted into a lower orbit than planned.  

Completely assembled, a Diamant A was 18.95 metres high and weighed 18.4 metric tons.<ref name=":0" />

It possessed a first stage of 9.92m length, 1.34 metres in diameter, and a weight of 14.7 [[metric ton]]s.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Les lanceurs Diamant A |url=http://www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_europeen/espace_francais/diamant_A.htm |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=www.capcomespace.net}}</ref> The first stage had a ''Vexin B'' [[nitric acid]]/[[turpentine]] engine supplying a thrust of 274&nbsp;kN for 93 seconds.<ref name=":2" />{{verify source|date=October 2024}}

The ''Topaze'' second stage was 4.70 metres long and had a diameter of 80 centimetres. It weighed 2.93 metric tons and had a four [[Solid-propellant rocket|solid propellant]] engine that developed a thrust of 150&nbsp;kN for a duration of 44 seconds.<ref name=":2" /> 

The third stage is 1.85 m long and weighed 708 kilograms. Its ''P064'' solid-propellant engine burned for 45 seconds and developed a thrust of 52&nbsp;kN.<ref name=":2" />

=== Diamant B ===
Diamant B was an improved version of the Diamant A with a more powerful first stage, being able to place a  190 kg payload at a 200 km orbit inclined at 5°, a 25 kg payload at a 1000 km orbit, or a 130 kg payload in low polar orbit.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Les lanceurs Diamant B et BP4 |url=http://www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_europeen/espace_francais/diamant_B.htm |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=www.capcomespace.net}}</ref>

Five satellite launches were attempted between 1970 and 1973, of which the last two failed. All launches took place from [[Guiana Space Centre|Kourou]] in French Guiana.

Completely assembled, a Diamant B was 23.5 metres high and weighed 26.9 metric tons.<ref name=":0" />

Its ''Améthyste'' first stage was 14.2 meters long, had a diameter of 1.4 metres and weighed 20 metric tons. Its ''LRBA Valois'' N2O4/UDMH engine developed a thrust of 315&nbsp;kN for 116 seconds.<ref name=":3" /> 

The ''Topaze'' ''P-2.2'' second stage had one P4 solid propellant engine that developed a thrust of 150&nbsp;kN for a duration of 44 seconds.<ref name=":3" /> 

The ''P06'' third stage was 1.66 metres long and had a diameter of 80 centimetres. Its ''P0.68'' solid propellant engine developed a thrust of 50&nbsp;kN for 46 seconds.<ref name=":3" /> 

=== Diamant BP4 ===
This version incorporates a new second stage, while carrying the first and third stages over from its predecessor.<ref name=":3" /> It performed three successful launches in 1975, putting a total of four satellites into orbit. 

Completely assembled, a Diamant BP4 measured 22.68 metres high and weighed 20.3 metric tons.<ref name=":0" /> 

Its ''Rita'' ''P-4'' second stage, which was derived from the [[M1 (missile)|MSBS]] rocket, was 2.28 metres long, 1.51 metres in diameter and its ''P4'' solid propellant engine developed a thrust of 176&nbsp;kN for 55 seconds.<ref name=":3" />