Zenit-2
 Zenit-2 at Site 45/1 |
|
| Function | Carrier rocket |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Yuzhnoye |
| Country of origin |  Ukraine |
| Size | |
| Height | 57 metres (187 ft) |
| Diameter | 3.9 metres (13 ft) |
| Mass | 444,900 kilograms (981,000 lb) |
| Stages | Two |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO |
13,740 kilograms (30,300 lb) |
| Payload to SSO |
5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb) |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | Zenit |
| Derivatives | Zenit-2M Zenit-3SL |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| Launch sites | Baikonur Site 45 |
| Total launches | 37 |
| Successes | 31 |
| Failures | 6 |
| First flight | 13 April 1985 |
| First Stage | |
| Engines | 1 RD-171 |
| Thrust | 8,180 kilonewtons (1,840,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 337 sec |
| Burn time | 150 seconds |
| Fuel | RP-1/LOX |
| Second Stage | |
| Engines | 1 RD-120 1 RD-8 |
| Thrust | 912 kilonewtons (205,000 lbf) 79.5 kilonewtons (17,900 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 349 sec |
| Burn time | 315 seconds |
| Fuel | RP-1/LOX |
The Zenit-2 is a Ukrainian, previously Soviet, expendable carrier rocket. First flown in 1985, it has been launched 37 times, with six failures. It is a member of the Zenit family of rockets, and was designed by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau. A modified version, the Zenit-2S, is used as the first two stages of the Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket.[1] Launches of Zenit-2 rockets are conducted from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 45/1. A second pad, 45/2, was also constructed, but was only used for two launches before being destroyed in an explosion.[2] A third pad, Site 35 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome was never completed, and work was abandoned after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[2]
The Zenit-2 is currently being replaced by the Zenit-2M, which incorporates enhancements made during the development of the Zenit-3SL, and it is unclear whether any remain to be launched. The Zenit-2 has a fairly low flight rate as the Russian government usually avoids flying national security payloads on Ukrainian rockets.
During the late 1990s, the Zenit-2 was marketed for commercial launches. Only one such launch was conducted, with a group of Globalstar satellites, which ended in failure after a computer error resulted in the premature cutoff of the second stage.
References [edit]
- ^ "The Rocket - Zenit-3SL". Sea Launch. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ a b Wade, Mark. "Zenit". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
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