Zenit-3SL

Zenit-3SL
	Zenit-3SL
Function	Carrier rocket
Manufacturer	Yuzhnoye (Zenit); RKK Energia (Block-DM); Boeing (fairing)
Country of origin	Ukraine[1]
Size
Height	59.6 metres (196 ft)
Diameter	3.9 metres (13 ft)
Mass	462,200 kilograms (1,019,000 lb)
Stages	Three
Capacity
Payload to GTO	6,160 kilograms (13,580 lb)[2]
Associated rockets
Family	Zenit
Derivatives	Zenit-3SLB
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Ocean Odyssey
Total launches	36
Successes	32
Failures	3
Partial failures	1
First flight	28 March 1999 (test flight)
Last flight	26 May 2014 (Eutelsat 3B)
First stage
Engines	1 RD-171
Thrust	8,180 kilonewtons (1,840,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	337 sec
Burn time	150 seconds
Fuel	RP-1/LOX
Second stage
Engines	1 RD-120; 1 RD-8
Thrust	912 kilonewtons (205,000 lbf); 79.5 kilonewtons (17,900 lbf)
Specific impulse	349 sec
Burn time	315 seconds
Fuel	RP-1/LOX
Third stage – Block DM-SL
Engines	1 RD-58M
Thrust	84.9 kilonewtons (19,100 lbf)
Specific impulse	352 sec
Burn time	650 seconds
Fuel	RP-1/LOX

The Zenit-3SL is an expendable carrier rocket operated by Sea Launch. First flown in 1999,[3] it has been launched 36 times, with three failures and one partial failure. It is a member of the Zenit family of rockets, and is built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau. RKK Energia produces the Block DM-SL upper stage, whilst the payload fairing is produced by Boeing.[4] Launches are conducted from the Ocean Odyssey platform anchored on the equator in the Pacific Ocean, at a point with 154°W longitude, about 370 kilometres east of Kiritimati.

The Zenit-3SL design began in the late 1980s as the Zenit-3, a proposed replacement for the Proton-K, which would have used a Zenit-2 rocket with a Block D upper stage. This proposal was shelved after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, as Russia inherited the space programme, however the Zenit was manufactured in Ukraine. Boeing became involved in the programme in 1994. The design was subsequently modified, with a modified version of the Block DM replacing the Block D.[3][5]

Sea Launch integrates the rockets in California, and transfers them to Odyssey via the Sea Launch Commander for transportation to the launch site. Once at the launch site, the rocket is erected on the platform, and a three-day countdown is initiated. The countdown is fully automated,[1] and personnel are evacuated from the launch platform to Commander prior to launch.

Zenit-3SL launches predominantly carry communications satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbits. As of 2009, the only payload to be launched by a Zenit-3SL that was not a communications satellite was a DemoSat, on the maiden flight. The only launch to be conducted to an orbit other than GTO was that of ICO F-1, which was intended to be placed into medium Earth orbit, however the rocket failed to reach orbit.

Reliability

Of thirty-six rockets launched, three have failed, with a fourth placing its payload into an incorrect, but recoverable orbit. The first failure occurred during the third flight, on 12 March 2000, when a software error resulted in the premature cutoff of the second stage, leaving the ICO F-1 satellite unable to reach orbit.[6]

On 29 June 2004, during the launch of Apstar 5, the upper stage shut down 54 seconds early due to a wiring fault,[7] leaving the satellite in a lower than planned orbit. The spacecraft raised itself to the correct orbit by means of its onboard manoeuvring engines, at the expense of fuel intended for stationkeeping once in the correct orbit.

On 30 January 2007, a Zenit-3SL exploded on the launch pad after an engine failure caused by debris in the turbopump. The payload on that flight was the NSS-8 communications satellite for SES New Skies.[8] This caused a considerable amount of downtime whilst damage to the launch platform was repaired.

On 1 February 2013, during the launch of Intelsat-27, a Zenit-3SL launch vehicle suffered a premature engine shutdown, as the rocket strayed from its lift-off trajectory, plunging into the Pacific Ocean shortly after launch.

gollark: As opposed to antiapic bees?

gollark: ffmpeg good actually.

gollark: * ohm

gollark: Or infinitely many zero-ohn resistors.

gollark: Just use 100 1-ohm resistors.

References

"Zenit-3SL". Launch Vehicles. National Space Agency of Ukraine. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
"Launch System : Performance". www.sea-launch.com. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
Wade, Mark. "Zenit". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
"The Rocket - Zenit-3SL". Sea Launch. Archived from the original on 2009-04-04. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
"Zenit 3SL". Orbital Report News Agency. Archived from the original on 2006-10-29. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
Kyle, Ed (2006-10-30). "2000 Launch Stats". Space Launch Report. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
Kyle, Ed (2006-10-30). "2004 Launch Stats". Space Launch Report. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
Kyle, Ed (2007-12-26). "2007 Launch Stats". Space Launch Report. Retrieved 2009-04-14.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[nkau-1] "Zenit-3SL". Launch Vehicles. National Space Agency of Ukraine. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved 2009-04-14.

[2] "Launch System : Performance". www.sea-launch.com. Retrieved 2016-04-07.

[EA-3] Wade, Mark. "Zenit". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2009-04-14.

[SL-4] "The Rocket - Zenit-3SL". Sea Launch. Archived from the original on 2009-04-04. Retrieved 2009-04-14.

[5] "Zenit 3SL". Orbital Report News Agency. Archived from the original on 2006-10-29. Retrieved 2009-04-14.

[6] Kyle, Ed (2006-10-30). "2000 Launch Stats". Space Launch Report. Retrieved 2009-04-14.

[7] Kyle, Ed (2006-10-30). "2004 Launch Stats". Space Launch Report. Retrieved 2009-04-14.

[8] Kyle, Ed (2007-12-26). "2007 Launch Stats". Space Launch Report. Retrieved 2009-04-14.

Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara A5 Antares 230+ Ariane 5 Atlas V Delta IV Heavy Electron Epsilon Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy GSLV Mk II Mk III H-IIA Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11^† Kaituozhe 2 LauncherOne^† Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 7 7A^† 11 Minotaur I IV V C OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qased Safir Shavit Simorgh^† Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB 2-1v Unha Vega Zenit 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque-1^†
In development	Angara 1.2 Ariane 6 Bloostar Cyclone-4M Eris Firefly Alpha Beta H3 Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 8 9 Miura 5 New Glenn New Line 1 Nuri OmegA OS-M2 OS-M4 Orbex Prime SLS Soyuz-7 SSLV Starship Terran 1 Vega C Vega E Vulcan Zero Zhuque-2
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 Ariane 1 2 3 4 ASLV Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able Agena Centaur Black Arrow Conestoga^† Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV Diamant Dnepr Energia Europa^† Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" Feng Bao 1 GSLV Mk I H-I H-II H-IIB Juno I Juno II Kaituozhe-1 Kosmos 1 2I 3 3M Lambda 4S Long March 1 1D^† 2A 2E 3 3B 4A Mu 4S 3C 3H 3S 3SII V N1^† N-I N-II Naro-1 Paektusan Pilot-2^† R-7 Luna Molniya M L Polyot Soyuz original FG L M U U2 Soyuz/Vostok Sputnik Voskhod Vostok L K 2 2M R-29 Shtil' Volna^† Saturn I IB V Scout SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Thor Able Ablestar Agena Burner Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M
Classes	Sounding rocket Small-lift launch vehicle Medium-lift launch vehicle Heavy-lift launch vehicle Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
This Template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future Symbol ^† indicates historical or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but did not ever succeed (never did or has performed a successful orbital launch)