Proton is an expendable launch system used for both commercial and Russian government space launches. The first Proton rocket was launched in 1965. Modern versions of the launch system are still in use As of 2023, making it one of the most successful heavy boosters in the history of spaceflight. The components of all Protons are manufactured at the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center factory in Moscow and Chemical Automatics Design Bureau in Voronezh, then transported to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, where they are assembled at Site 91 to form the launch vehicle. Following payload integration, the rocket is then brought to the launch pad horizontally by rail, and raised into vertical position for launch.
Ariane 1 was the first rocket in the Ariane family of expendable launch systems. It was developed and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), which had been formed in 1973, the same year that development of the launcher had commenced.
Sea Launch was a multinational—Norway, Russia, Ukraine, United States—spacecraft launch company founded in 1995 that provided orbital launch services from 1999 to 2014. The company used a mobile maritime launch platform for equatorial launches of commercial payloads on specialized Zenit-3SL rockets from a 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.
Orbital Sciences Corporation was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and medium- class space and launch vehicle systems for commercial, military and other government customers. In 2014, Orbital merged with Alliant Techsystems to create a new company called Orbital ATK, Inc., which in turn was purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2018. The remnants of the former Orbital Sciences Corporation today are a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, known as Northrop Grumman Space Systems.
The Angara rocket family is a family of launch vehicles being developed by the Moscow-based Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. The launch vehicles are to put between 3,800 kg (8,400 lb) and 24,500 kg (54,000 lb) into low Earth orbit and are intended, along with Soyuz-2 variants, to replace several existing launch vehicles.
Blok D is an upper stage used on Soviet and later Russian expendable launch systems, including the N1, Proton-K and Zenit.
The year 2007 contained several significant events in spaceflight, including a Chinese ASAT test, the launches of the US Phoenix and Dawn missions to study Mars and Asteroid belt respectively, Japan's Kaguya Lunar orbiter, and the first Chinese Lunar probe, Chang'e 1.
Fregat (Russian: Фрегат, frigate) is an upper stage developed by NPO Lavochkin in the 1990s, which is used in some Soyuz and Zenit launch vehicles, but is universal and can be used as a part of a medium and heavy class launch vehicles. Fregat became operational in February 2000. Its liquid propellant engine uses UDMH and N2O4. Fregat's success rate is 97.8% (with 2 failures in 93 launches), which makes it one of the most reliable upper stages in the world. Fregat has successfully delivered more than 300 payloads into different orbits. It remains the only upper stage in the world that can place its payload into 3 or more different orbits in a single launch.
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.
The Proton-M, (Протон-М) GRAU index 8K82M or 8K82KM, is an expendable Russian heavy-lift launch vehicle derived from the Soviet-developed Proton. It is built by Khrunichev, and launched from sites 81 and 200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Commercial launches are marketed by International Launch Services (ILS), and generally use Site 200/39. The first Proton-M launch occurred on 7 April 2001.
The Proton-K, also designated Proton 8K82K after its GRAU index or SL-12 after its model number, 8K82K, was a Russian, previously Soviet, carrier rocket derived from the earlier Proton. It was built by Khrunichev, and launched from sites 81 and 200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The Zenit 3SLB or Zenit-3M is a Ukrainian 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.
The Zenit-3F, Zenit-3SLBF or Zenit-2SB/Fregat is an expendable carrier rocket. It is a member of the Zenit family of rockets, which were designed by Yuzhnoye Design Bureau of Ukraine.
Intelsat 19 is a geostationary communications satellite operated by Intelsat. It was constructed by Space Systems/Loral, based on the LS-1300 satellite bus. It was successfully launched by Sea Launch using a Zenit-3SL launch vehicle on 1 June 2012 at 05:22:59 UTC. Upon entering service it replaced Intelsat 8 at 166° East Longitude.
Eutelsat 70B is a commercial communications satellite run by Eutelsat. It was launched on 3 December 2012 and is designed to provide telecommunication services for the Middle East, Central Asia, South East Asia and parts of Africa. It will replace Eutelsat 70A, which was previously known as Eutelsat W5. That satellite, which was launched in 2002, currently occupies the same 70.5° E location this satellite is intended for.
Intelsat 27 was an American communications satellite which was to have been operated by Intelsat. Intended as a replacement for Intelsat 805, it was destroyed after the rocket carrying it to orbit fell into the Pacific Ocean 56 seconds after launch.
The Blok DM-03, GRAU index 11S861-03, is a Russian upper stage used as an optional fourth stage on the Proton-M heavy-lift rocket. Three have been launched, the first in December 2010; the first two launches failed before fourth stage ignition, the first as a result of a problem with the Blok DM's fuel load.
AngoSat 1 was a geostationary communications satellite operated by Angosat and built by the Russian company RKK Energia. It was the first communications satellite of Angola, designed for a 15-year mission to deliver television, internet, and radio services to Angola and other territories. The satellite suffered a power problem in the first hours of flight and lost contact with ground control. After the power problem, contact was established with the satellite, but ultimately the satellite did not recover, and contact was lost permanently 3 days into the mission. After repeated failures to establish contact in the following weeks/months, the satellite was declared lost. Russia built a replacement satellite AngoSat 2.
Telstar 18 is a Russian communications satellite that was launched by a Zenit-3SL rocket from the Ocean Odyssey platform floating on the equatorial Pacific Ocean at 04:00 UT on 29 June 2004. It was intended to be a geostationary satellite, but due to the premature stoppage of the boost from the final DM-SL stage, it ended at 21000 km, far below the geostationary orbit. Trim-maneuver thrusters attached to the satellite were used to slowly raise to geostationary orbit to an approximately geostationary status at 36000 km.
