left|thumb|Military space program pierres précieuses (fr.: gemstones) that included the five prototypes [[Agate (rocket)|Agathe, Topaze, Emeraude, Rubis and Saphir.]]
VE 231 Saphir (French, meaning sapphire) was a French two stage sounding rocket.
It was part of the pierres précieuses (fr.: gemstones) program, that included five prototypes Agathe, Topaze, Emeraude, Rubis and Saphir, leading up to the Diamant orbital rocket.
Its codename, VE 231, indicates that it is a "Véhicule Expérimental" (Experimental Vehicle) with 2 stages, using liquid and solid propellant (code 3), and guided (code 1).
Saphir was used between 1965 and 1967 and had a payload capacity of . The rocket could reach a maximum altitude of and produced thrust of at launch. Saphir had a launch mass of , a diameter of and a length of .
Saphir variants were designed to allow testing of radio-controlled guidance (VE231P), inertial guidance (VE231G), and warhead separation and ablative heat shielding of a re-entry vehicle (VE231R).
Launches
Saphir was launched 15 times from CIEES, Hammaguir, from July 5, 1965, to January 27, 1967.