 Zenit-3SL | |
| Function | Carrier rocket |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Yuzhmash (Zenit) RKK Energia (Block-DM) Boeing (fairing) |
| Country of origin | Ukraine |
| 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 | |
| Mass | 6,160 kilograms (13,580 lb) [1] |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | Zenit |
| Derivative work | Zenit-3SLB |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | Ocean Odyssey |
| Total launches | 36 |
| Success(es) | 32 |
| Failure(s) | 3 |
| Partial failure(s) | 1 |
| First flight | 28 March 1999 (test flight) |
| Last flight | 26 May 2014 (Eutelsat 3B) |
| First stage | |
| Powered by | 1 RD-171 |
| Maximum thrust | 8,180 kilonewtons (1,840,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 337 sec |
| Burn time | 150 seconds |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
| Second stage | |
| Powered by | 1 RD-120 1 RD-8 |
| Maximum thrust | 912 kilonewtons (205,000 lbf) 79.5 kilonewtons (17,900 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 349 sec |
| Burn time | 315 seconds |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
| Third stage –Block DM-SL | |
| Powered by | 1 RD-58M |
| Maximum thrust | 84.9 kilonewtons (19,100 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 352 sec |
| Burn time | 650 seconds |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
The Zenit-3SL was an expendable carrier rocket operated by Sea Launch. First flown in 1999, [2] it was launched 36 times,with three failures and one partial failure. It was a member of the Zenit family of rockets,and is built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau. RKK Energia produced the Block DM-SL upper stage,whilst the payload fairing was produced by Boeing. [3] Launches were 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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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 Ukrainian SSR. 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. [2] [4]
Sea Launch integrated 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 was erected on the platform,and a three-day countdown was initiated. The countdown was fully automated, [5] and personnel were evacuated from the launch platform to Commander prior to launch.
Zenit-3SL launches predominantly carried 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.
