Diamant B

Diamant-B Precious Stone B

Mission Profile

The Diamant B (Diamant-B, Precious Stone B) was a three-stage French launch vehicle in the Emeraude family, an upgraded version of the Diamant A with improved first-stage performance and launched from the new Kourou spaceport under the Pierres Précieuses programme. Standing 23.5 m tall with a 1.4 m diameter and a liftoff mass of 24.6 tonnes, it generated 316 kN of first-stage thrust and could deliver 115 kg to low Earth orbit. First flying in March 1970, the Diamant B launched several French scientific satellites from Kourou, French Guiana before France shifted to collaborative European launches via Ariane.