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Sea Launch was a multinational spacecraft launch company founded in 1995 that provided orbital launch services from 1999–2014. The company used a mobile maritime launch platform for equatorial launches of commercial payloads on specialized Zenit-3SL rockets from the former mobile/floating oil drilling rig renamed Odyssey.
Zenit is a family of space launch vehicles designed by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Dnipro, Ukraine, which was then part of the Soviet Union. Zenit was originally built in the 1980s for two purposes: as a liquid rocket booster for the Energia rocket and, equipped with a second stage, as a stand-alone middle-weight launcher with a payload greater than the 7 tonnes of the Soyuz but smaller than the 20 tonnes payload of the Proton. The last rocket family developed in the USSR, the Zenit was intended as an eventual replacement for the dated Soyuz and Proton families, and it would employ propellants which were safer and less toxic than the Proton's nitrogen tetroxide/UDMH mix. Zenit was planned to take over crewed spaceship launches from Soyuz, but these plans were abandoned after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The State Space Agency of Ukraine is the Ukrainian government agency responsible for space policy and programs. Along with the Ukrainian Defense Industry and the Antonov Aeronautical Scientific-Technical Complex, it is a major state complex of the national defense industry of Ukraine. The agency was formed in 1992 based on the Soviet space program potential based in Ukraine following dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Rokot, also transliterated Rockot, was a Russian space launch vehicle that was capable of launching a payload of 1,950 kilograms into a 200 kilometre Earth orbit with 63° inclination. It was based on the UR-100N intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), supplied and operated by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. The first launches started in the 1990s from Baikonur Cosmodrome out of a silo. Later commercial launches commenced from Plesetsk Cosmodrome using a launch ramp specially rebuilt from one for the Kosmos-3M launch vehicle. The cost of the launcher itself was about US$15 million in 1999; The contract with European Space Agency (ESA) for launching Swarm in September 2013 was worth €27.1 million.
The Zenit-3SL is an expendable carrier rocket operated by Sea Launch. First flown in 1999, 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. 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.
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Luna E-6 No.3, also identified as No.2 and sometimes by NASA as Luna 1963B, was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1963. It was a 1,422-kilogram (3,135 lb) Luna E-6 spacecraft, the second of twelve to be launched, and the second consecutive launch failure. It was intended to be the first spacecraft to perform a soft landing on the Moon, a goal which would eventually be accomplished by the final E-6 spacecraft, Luna 9.
This article outlines notable events occurring in 2003 in spaceflight, including major launches and EVAs. The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on 1 February 2003.
The Zenit-2 is a Ukrainian, previously Soviet, expendable carrier rocket. First flown in 1985, it has been launched 37 times, with 6 failures. It is a member of the Zenit family of rockets and was designed by the Yuzhmash.
Site 45 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome is a launch site used by Zenit rockets. It consists of two pads, one of which is still in use. It has been the launch site for all Soviet and Russian government Zenit launches, along with a commercial launch conducted for Globalstar in 1998, and continuing commercial launches under the Land Launch programme. The main pad at the site is area 45/1, which was completed in 1983 following five years of construction. A second pad, area 45/2, was completed in 1990, but was destroyed by a launch failure in the same year.
The Soyuz-U2 was a Soviet, later Russian, carrier rocket. It was derived from the Soyuz-U, and a member of the R-7 family of rockets. It featured increased performance compared with the baseline Soyuz-U, due to the use of syntin propellant, as opposed to RP-1 paraffin, used on the Soyuz-U.
The year 2011 saw a number of significant events in spaceflight, including the retirement of NASA's Space Shuttle after its final flight in July 2011, and the launch of China's first space station module, Tiangong-1, in September. A total of 84 orbital launches were conducted over the course of the year, of which 78 were successful. Russia, China and the United States conducted the majority of the year's orbital launches, with 35, 19 and 18 launches respectively; 2011 marked the first year that China conducted more successful launches than the United States. Seven crewed missions were launched into orbit during 2011, carrying a total of 28 astronauts to the International Space Station. Additionally, the Zenit-3F and Long March 2F/G carrier rockets made their maiden flights in 2011, while the Delta II Heavy made its last.
The Zenit-3SLB or Zenit-3M is a USSR expendable carrier rocket derived from the Zenit-2SB. It is a member of the Zenit family of rockets, which were designed by the Yuzhnoye Design Office. Produced at Yuzhmash, the rocket is a modified version of the Zenit-3SL, designed to be launched from a conventional launch pad rather than the Sea Launch Ocean Odyssey platform. Most of components of the rocket are produced in Russia.
Kosmos 98 or Zenit-2 No.31 was a Soviet, first generation, low resolution, optical film-return reconnaissance satellite launched in 1965. A Zenit-2 spacecraft, Kosmos 98 was the thirty-first of eighty-one such satellites to be launched and had a mass of 4,730 kilograms (10,430 lb).
Kosmos 105 or Zenit-2 No.38 was a Soviet, first generation, low resolution, optical film-return reconnaissance satellite launched in 1966. A Zenit-2 spacecraft, Kosmos 105 was the thirty-fourth of eighty-one such satellites to be launched and had a mass of 4,730 kilograms (10,430 lb).
Kosmos 107 or Zenit-2 No.34 was a Soviet, first generation, low resolution, optical film-return reconnaissance satellite launched in 1966. A Zenit-2 spacecraft, Kosmos 107 was the thirty-fifth of eighty-one such satellites to be launched and had a mass of 4,730 kilograms (10,430 lb).
Kosmos 115 or Zenit-2 No.35 was a Soviet, first generation, low resolution, optical film-return reconnaissance satellite launched in 1966. A Zenit-2 spacecraft, Kosmos 115 was the thirty-seventh of eighty-one such satellites to be launched and had a mass of 4,730 kilograms (10,430 lb).
Kosmos 143 or Zenit-2 No.45 was a Soviet, first generation, low resolution, optical film-return reconnaissance satellite launched in 1967. A Zenit-2 spacecraft, Kosmos 143 was the forty-sixth of eighty-one such satellites to be launched and had a mass of 1,730 kilograms (3,810 lb).
References
- McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- Wade, Mark. "Zenit". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 14 June 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- Zak, Anatoly. "Development of the Zenit rocket". RussianSpaceWeb.com. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
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