An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than 5,500 kilometres (3,400 mi),primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery. Conventional,chemical,and biological weapons can also be delivered with varying effectiveness,but have never been deployed on ICBMs. Most modern designs support multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRVs),allowing a single missile to carry several warheads,each of which can strike a different target. The United States,Russia,China,France,India,the United Kingdom,Israel,and North Korea are the only countries known to have operational ICBMs.
The R-7 Semyorka,officially the GRAU index 8K71,was a Soviet missile developed during the Cold War,and the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile. The R-7 made 28 launches between 1957 and 1961,but was never deployed operationally. A derivative,the R-7A,was deployed from 1959 to 1968. To the West it was unknown until its launch. In modified form,it launched Sputnik 1,the first artificial satellite,into orbit,and became the basis for the R-7 family which includes Sputnik,Luna,Molniya,Vostok,and Voskhod space launchers,as well as later Soyuz variants.
Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny,Arkhangelsk Oblast,about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200 km south of Arkhangelsk,the cosmodrome dates to 1957. Originally developed as an ICBM site for the R-7 missile,it also served for numerous satellite launches using the R-7 and other rockets. Its high latitude makes it useful only for certain types of launches,especially the Molniya orbits,so for much of the site's history it functioned as a secondary location,with most orbital launches taking place from Baikonur,in the Kazakh SSR. With the end of the Soviet Union,Baikonur became a foreign territory,and Kazakhstan charged $115 million usage fees annually. Consequently,Plesetsk has seen considerably more activity since the 2000s.
The Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation or the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation is a separate-troops branch of the Russian Armed Forces that controls Russia's land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
The Tsyklon,GRAU index 11K67,was a Soviet-designed expendable launch system,primarily used to put Cosmos satellites into low Earth orbit. It is based on the R-36 intercontinental ballistic missile designed by Mikhail Yangel and made eight launches,with seven successes and one failure. All of its launches were conducted from LC-90 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. It is sometimes designated Tsyklon-2A,not to be confused with the later Tsyklon-2 rocket. It was introduced in 1967 and was derived from the R-36 ICBM. It was retired in 1969.
The RT-2PM2 «Topol-M» is one of the most recent intercontinental ballistic missiles to be deployed by Russia,and the first to be developed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It was developed from the RT-2PM Topol mobile intercontinental ballistic missile.
The RT-2PM Topol is a mobile intercontinental ballistic missile designed in the Soviet Union and in service with Russia's Strategic Missile Troops. As of 2014,Russia planned to replace all RT-2PM ICBMs with versions of Topol-M.
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 infrastructure remaining in Ukraine following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Kapustin Yar is a Russian rocket launch complex in Astrakhan Oblast,about 100 km east of Volgograd. It was established by the Soviet Union on 13 May 1946. In the beginning,Kapustin Yar used technology,material,and scientific support gained from the defeat of Germany in World War II. Numerous launches of test rockets for the Russian military were carried out at the site,as well as satellite and sounding rocket launches. The towns of Znamensk and Kapustin Yar were built nearby to serve the missile test range.
Svobodny was a Russian rocket launch site located approximately 15 km north of Svobodny,Amur Oblast. The cosmodrome was originally constructed as a launch site for intercontinental ballistic missiles called Svobodny-18. It was initially selected as a replacement for Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic,which became independent as Kazakhstan after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. However the development of Svobodny was subsequently ended in 2007 in favour of a totally new space port,the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
Rokot,also transliterated Rockot,was a Soviet Union space launch vehicle that was capable of launching a payload of 1,950 kilograms (4,300 lb) into a 200-kilometre (120 mi) 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.
Kura Missile Test Range,originally known as Kama,is a Russian intercontinental ballistic missile impact area located in northern Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East. It is the destination for ballistic missiles which are test fired from other centers,and was chosen due to its remoteness and distance. It is 130 kilometers (81 mi) northeast of the settlement of Klyuchi and the military townlet is called Klyuchi-1,after the nearest settlement.
The RS-24 Yars - modification 24) also known as RT-24 Yars or Topol'-MR is a Russian MIRV-equipped,thermonuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missile first tested on May 29,2007,after a secret military R&D project.
The R-7 family of rockets is a series of rockets,derived from the Soviet R-7 Semyorka,the world's first ICBM. More R-7 rockets have been launched than any other family of large rockets.
Strela is a Russian orbital carrier rocket,derived from the Soviet/Russian UR-100NU missile. It conducted its maiden test launch on 5 December 2003,carried its first functional payload on 27 June 2013,and a second one on 19 December 2014.
Aleksandr Davidovich Nadiradze was a Soviet engineer of Georgian ethnicity who was instrumental in former Soviet Union's aerospace and defense technology. He developed various missiles,bombs,shells and is considered "father" of the mobile ICBMs,having created the RT-21 Temp 2S (SS-16),RSD-10 Pioneer (SS-20) and the RT-2PM Topol (SS-25). More modern weapons such as the RT-2PM2 Topol-M and RS-24 are mostly based on Nadiradze's work as well.
The RS-28 Sarmat,often unofficially called Satan II by some media outlets,is a Russian liquid-fueled,MIRV-equipped super-heavy intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) produced by the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau since 2009. It is intended to replace the R-36M ICBM in Russia's arsenal.
The RS-26 Rubezh SS-X-31 or SS-X-29B,is a Russian solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile,equipped with a thermonuclear MIRV or MaRV payload. The missile is also intended to be capable of carrying the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle. The RS-26 is based on RS-24 Yars,and constitutes a shorter version of the RS-24 with one fewer stages. The development process of the RS-26 has been largely comparable to that of the RSD-10 Pioneer,a shortened derivative of the RT-21 Temp 2S. Deployment of the RS-26 is speculated to have a similar strategic impact as the RSD-10.
The SS-16 Temp-2s missile was the first attempt by the Soviet Union to develop a mobile ICBM. The missile project was designated SS-X-16 by Western intelligence and underwent several flight tests. The project was cancelled and the last missile firing took place in April 1976.
