- Rockot
The Rockot (also Rokot) ( _ru. Ро́кот) is a
Russia n spacelaunch vehicle that can launch a payload of 1,950 kilograms into a 200 kilometre highEarth orbit with 63°inclination . It is a derivative of theUR-100N (SS-19 Stiletto)intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), supplied and operated byEurockot Launch Services . The first launches started in the 1990s fromBaikonur Cosmodrome out of a silo. Later commercial launches commenced fromPlesetsk Cosmodrome using a launch ramp specially rebuilt from one for theCosmos-3M rocket. The cost of a commercial launch is estimated at 13 to 15 millionUnited States dollar s.Specifications
Rockot's total mass is 107
tonne s, its length 29 metres and its maximum diameter 2.5 metres. The liquid-fueled rocket comprises three stages: the lower two are based on theSoviet UR-100N ICBM; the third stage is aBreeze-KM . All stages useUDMH (unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine ) as fuel anddinitrogen tetroxide asoxidiser . The Strela is a similar rocket, also based on the SS-19.History
The first suborbital test launch succeeded on
1990 November 20 in Baikonur Cosmodrome. On1994 December 26 Rockot brought its first satellite into Earth orbit. "Eurockot Launch Services GmbH", ajoint venture betweenEADS SPACE Transportation and the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, markets the rockets today, moving the launch site to Plesetsk. There, the first launch took place on2000 May 16 . Also the Russian space centre Svobodny has SS-19 launch silos, which can be modified for Rockots if required.After a number of successful launches, on
2005 October 8 a Rockot carrying aEuropean Space Agency satellite,CryoSat , the launch vehicle 2nd stage main engine was not shut down properly, resulting in a catastrophic failure and automatic termination of the launch mission by the on-board computer, resulting in the loss of the payload. After the failed CryoSat launch, all Rockot launches were suspended until the failure was identified. The root cause was unambiguously identified and the corrective measures for Rockot's return-to-flight were implemented for theSouth Korea n Kompsat-2 earth observation satellite launch which took place successfully on July 28, 2006.Launch table
Planned launches
References
External links
* [http://www.eurockot.com/ www.eurockot.com] Website of Eurockot Launch Service Provider
* [http://www.russianspaceweb.com/rockot.html www.russianspaceweb.com/rockot.html] Rockot history
* [http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/sfn_051008_cryosat_lnch.html Space.com article] on CryoSat launch failure
Russian launch vehicles
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