-with the 19th century being a time of war, more development
-Ref
-rockets like Hale rockets developed earlier than OTL, adopted by all sides of Second French War (1821-32)
-rocket brigades all over the place
-rockets see decline with rise of more accurate artillery in late 19th century
-but nevertheless see use in French Wars > Fourth French War (1880-4), with use of reaction motors for improved accuracy
-liquid-fueled rockets prototyped in 1889, see use in French Wars > Fifth French War (1892-5) towards the end there as longer-range rocket missiles
-including intermediate range rocket missiles akin to Katyushas
-inspires rocket autophores and rocket flyers in France in 1910s (Aeronautics > ^03aa45)
-as well as solid-propellant rocket
-use of liquid-propelled rockets to do humanity's first flight in 1884
-wartime experiment by French govt
-this prototype called autobolide, from auto and bolide (from ancient greek bolis)
-but known today as rocket planes
-use in aerial bombing during French Wars > Fifth French War (1892-5)
-rocket planes with rockets attached, aeronauts drop bombs from it
-postwar, with plans for them leaked, France engages in grandstanding by giving out its patent for free as a gift to the world in a spirit of republicanism
-aerial frames
-successful experiment in flying across English Channel in 1903
-The golden age of rocket planes only starts to come to an end in the 1920s, as advantages of planophores become clear and they exceed their achievements - except in speed (and they're still pretty fast)
-increasing talk over rocketry in the 1930s
-during French Wars > Sixth French War (1937-41), France bombed bad by German bombers - easier for Germany to hit French industry as it's right near border while Germany's is headquartered in Saxony
-forces France to look at other ways, prewar rocket program advanced, by 1939 builds V1 and V2-style rocket which has bad aim but does hit German industry in Saxony
-postwar, national security issues fuel rocket program
-in 1945, France able to send satellite into space, and it sends signal back (to everyone's amazement)
-national security concerns inspires British Isles, Germany, Russia, and the US to do the same over next 5 years
-French attempts to record earth surface from satellite ending up off inspire formation of theory of gravitational Invariance to explain it
-releases something akin to Vanguard to get measurements of atmosphere
-in 1949, France sends man into orbit in the Grande Hermine, inaugurating era of Space Exploration