Dnepr-1
 | |
| Function | Orbital carrier rocket |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant |
| Country of origin | Soviet Union (original build), Ukraine (commercial launches after 1999) |
| Size | |
| Height | 34.3 metres (113 ft) |
| Diameter | 3 metres (9.8 ft) |
| Mass | 211,000 kilograms (465,000 lb) |
| Stages | 3 (4 or 5 with SpaceTug upper stages) |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO |
4,500 kilograms (9,900 lb) |
| Payload to the ISS |
3,200 kilograms (7,100 lb) |
| Payload to SSO |
2,300 kilograms (5,100 lb) |
| Payload to TLI |
550 kilograms (1,210 lb) (with ST-1) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| Launch sites | Site 109/95, Baikonur LC-13, Yasny |
| Total launches | 22 |
| Successes | 21 |
| Failures | 1 |
| First flight | 21 April 1999 |
| Engines | 1 RD-264 module (four RD-263 engines) |
| Thrust | 4,520 kilonewtons (1,020,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 318 s |
| Burn time | 130 seconds |
| Fuel | N2O4/UDMH |
| Engines | 1 RD-0255 module (one RD-0256 main engine and one RD-0257 vernier) |
| Thrust | 755 kilonewtons (170,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 340 sec |
| Burn time | 190 seconds |
| Fuel | N2O4/UDMH |
| Engines | 1 RD-869 |
| Thrust | 18.6 kilonewtons (4,200 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 317 sec |
| Burn time | 1,000 seconds |
| Fuel | N2O4/UDMH |
| SpaceTug 1 | |
| Engines | 1 Solid |
| Thrust | |
| Fuel | Solid |
| SpaceTug 3 | |
| Engines | 1 Liquid |
| Thrust | |
| Fuel | N2O4/UDMH |
The Dnepr rocket (Ukrainian: Дніпро, Dnipró; Russian: Днепр, Dnepr) is a space launch vehicle named after the Dnieper River. It is a converted ICBM used for launching artificial satellites into orbit, operated by launch service provider ISC Kosmotras. The first launch, on April 21, 1999, successfully placed UoSAT-12, a 350 kg demonstration mini-satellite, into a 650 km circular Low Earth orbit.[1][2]
History
The Dnepr is based on the R-36MUTTH Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) – called the SS-18 Satan by NATO – designed in the 1970s by the Yuzhnoe Design Bureau in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, which was then a part of the USSR.
The Dnepr control system was developed and produced by the JSC "Khartron", Kharkiv. The Dnepr is a three-stage rocket using storable hypergolic liquid propellants. The launch vehicles used for satellite launches have been withdrawn from ballistic missile service with the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces and stored for commercial use. A group of a total of 150 ICBMs were allowed under certain geopolitical disarmament protocols to be converted for use, and can be launched through 2020. The Dnepr is launched from the Russian-controlled Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and the Dombarovsky launch base, near Yasny, in the Orenburg region of Russia.
In February 2015, following a year of strained relations as a result of a Russian military intervention into Ukraine, Russia announced that it would sever its "joint program with Ukraine to launch Dnepr rockets and [was] no longer interested in buying Ukrainian Zenit boosters, deepening problems for [Ukraine's] space program and its struggling Yuzhmash factory."[3] However ISC Kosmotras reported that they would continue to fulfill its obligations for three Dnepr launches in 2015 from which only one took place.[4]
Performance
The Dnepr launch vehicle has only a small number of modifications compared to the R-36M ICBM in service. The main difference is the payload adapter located in the space head module and modified flight-control unit. This baseline version can lift 3,600 kg into a 300 km low earth orbit at an inclination of 50.6°, or 2,300 kg to a 300 km sun-synchronous orbit at an inclination of 98.0°. On a typical mission the Dnepr deploys a larger main payload and a secondary payload of Miniaturized satellites and CubeSats. A number of Space Tugs are under development which will be placed inside the space head module, thereby sacrificing volume and payload but enabling orbits requiring more energy, including planetary escape orbits.
Launch history
Before the Dnepr entered commercial service it was in service with the Strategic Rocket Forces which launched the ICBM version over 160 times with a reliability of 97%. The rocket has been used several times for commercial purposes with a single failure.
The Dnepr has at two points held the record for the most satellites orbited in a single launch; the April 2007 launch with 14 payloads held the record until 20 November 2013, when an American Minotaur I placed 29 satellites and two experiment packages into orbit.[5] The next day a Dnepr re-took the record, placing 32 satellites and an experiment package bolted to the upper stage into low Earth orbit.[6] This record was broken by an Antares launch in January 2014 which carried 34 spacecraft.
| Flight | Date (UTC) | Payload | Orbit | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | April 21, 1999 04:59 | UoSAT-12 | 650 km circular LEO at 65˚ inclination | Baikonur |
| 2 | September 26, 2000 10:05 | MegSat-1 (Italy)/UniSat (Italy)/TiungSat-1 (Malaysia)/ SaudiSat-1A & SaudiSat 1B (Saudi Arabia) | 650 km circular LEO at 65˚ inclination | Baikonur |
| 3 | December 20, 2002 17:00 | LatinSat 1 & LatinSat 2 (Argentina)/SaudiSat-1S (Saudi Arabia)/UniSat 2 (Italy)/Rubin 2 (Germany)/TrailBlazer Test (USA) | 650 km circular LEO at 65˚ inclination | Baikonur |
| 4 | June 29, 2004 06:30 | Demeter (France)/ Saudicomsat-1, Saudicomsat 2 & Saudisat 2 (Saudi Arabia)/ LatinSat C & LatinSat D (Argentina)/ Unisat-3 (Italy)/ Amsat Echo (USA) | 700 km × 850 km Sun-synchronous orbit at 98˚ inclination | Baikonur |
| 5 | August 23, 2005 21:10 | OICETS & INDEX (Japan) | 600 km × 550 km Sun-synchronous orbit at 98˚ inclination | Baikonur |
| 6 | July 12, 2006 14:53 | Genesis I (USA) | 560 km circular LEO at 65˚ inclination | Yasny |
| 7 | July 26, 2006 19:43 | BelKA (Belarus)/ UniSat-4 & PiCPoT (Italy)/ Baumanets ( Russia)/ AeroCube-1, CP1, CP2, ICEcube-1, ICEcube-2, ION, KUTESat, Merope, Rincon 1, Mea Huaka`i (Voyager) & SACRED (USA)/HAUSAT-1 (South Korea)/Ncube-1 (Norway)/SEEDS (Japan) | failed to reach orbit | Baikonur |
| 8 | April 17, 2007 06:46 | EgyptSat 1/SaudiSat 3/SaudiComSat 3-7 /AKS 1/AKS 2/Cal Poly Picosatellite Project 3 &4/CAPE 1/Libertad 1(Colombia)/AeroCube 2/CubeSat TestBed 1/MAST | 692 km × 665 km Sun synchronous orbit at 98˚ inclination[7] | Baikonur |
| 9 | June 15, 2007 02:14 | TerraSAR-X | 514 km circular LEO at 97˚ inclination[8] | Baikonur |
| 10 | June 28, 2007 15:02 | Genesis II | 560 km circular LEO at 65˚ inclination | Yasny |
| 11 | August 29, 2008 07:16 | RapidEye 1/2/3/4/5 | [9] | Baikonur |
| 12 | October 1, 2008 06:37 | THEOS | SSO | Yasny |
| 13 | July 29, 2009 18:46 | DubaiSat-1/Deimos-1/UK-DMC 2/Nanosat 1B/AprizeSat-3/AprizeSat-4 | SSO | Baikonur |
| 14 | April 8, 2010 13:57 | Cryosat-2 | Polar | Baikonur |
| 15 | June 15, 2010 14:42 | Prisma, Picard, BPA-1 | SSO | Yasny |
| 16 | June 21, 2010 02:14 | TanDEM-X | LEO | Baikonur |
| 17 | August 17, 2011 07:12 | Sich-2, NigeriaSat-2, NX, RASAT, EduSAT, AprizeSat-5, AprizeSat-6, BPA-2 | LEO | Yasny |
| 18[10] | August 22, 2013 14:39 | KOMPSat-5 | LEO | Yasny |
| 19[11] | November 21, 2013 07:10 | STSAT-3 / DubaiSat-2 / SkySat 1 / WNISAT 1 / Lem (BRITE-PL) / AprizeSat 7 / AprizeSat 8 / UniSat 5 /Delfi-n3Xt / Dove 3 / Dove 4 / Triton 1 / CINEMA 2 / CINEMA 3 / OPTOS / CubeBug 2 / GOMX 1 /NEE-02 Krysaor / FUNcube 1 / HiNCube / ZACUBE-1 / ICube 1 / HumSat-D / PUCP-SAT 1 / First-MOVE / UWE 3 / VELOX-P 2 / BeakerSat 1 / $50SAT / QubeScout S1 / Wren / Pocket-PUCP / BPA 3 | LEO | Yasny |
| 20[12] | June 19, 2014 19:11 | Deimos-2 / KazEOSat 2 / UniSat 6 / SaudiSat-4 / AprizeSat 9 / AprizeSat 10 / Hodoyoshi 3 / Hodoyoshi 4 / BRITE-CA 1 / BRITE-CA 2 / TabletSat-Aurora / BugSat 1 / Perseus-M 1 / Perseus-M 2 / QB50P1 / QB50P2 / NanoSatC-Br 1 / DTUSat 2 / POPSAT-HIP 1 / PolyITAN 1 / PACE / Duchifat-1 / Flock-1c 1-11 / AeroCube 6 / Lemur 1 / ANTELSAT / Tigrisat | LEO | Yasny |
| 21[13] | November 6, 2014 07:35 | ASNARO 1 / Hodoyoshi 1 / ChubuSat 1 / Tsubame / QSAT-EOS | LEO | Yasny |
| 22[14] | March 25, 2015 22:08 | KOMPSat-3A | LEO | Yasny |
Launch failure
The committee investigating the failed launch on July 26, 2006 concluded that the failure was caused by a malfunctioning of the pumping hydraulic drive of combustion chamber #4. The control malfunctioning brought about the disturbances, which led to the roll instability, excessive dispersions of the yaw and pitch angles. Thrust termination occurred at 74 seconds after lift off. The crash site was located 150 km from the launch pad in an unpopulated area of Kazakhstan. Toxic propellants did pollute the crash site, forcing Russia to pay US$1.1m in compensation.[15] The rocket used for this launch was more than twenty years old. Procedures for launch have been changed to prevent future malfunctions of this kind.
See also
References
- ↑ "The Dnepr launcher". RussianSpaceWeb.com.
- ↑ "UoSAT-12 Integrates with Dnepr for Launch on 21 April". Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd.
- ↑ Messier, Doug (6 February 2015). "Russia Severing Ties With Ukraine on Dnepr, Zenit Launch Programs". Parabolic Arc. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ Clark, Stephen (6 February 2015). "Customers assured of Dnepr rocket’s near-term availability". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ Graham, William (20 November 2013). "Orbital’s Minotaur I successfully lofts multitude of payloads". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- ↑ Graham, William (21 November 2013). "Russian Dnepr conducts record breaking 32 satellite haul". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- ↑ "EgyptSat 1/Saudisat-3 launch details" (in Russian). Roskosmos.
- ↑ "TerraSAR-X launch details" (in Russian). Roskosmos.
- ↑ "Five RapidEye remote sensing satellites launched". Spaceflight Now.
- ↑ William Graham (2013-08-22). "Russian Dnepr rocket launches with Arirang-5". NASASpaceflight.com.
- ↑ Stephen Clark (21 November 2013). "Silo-launched Dnepr rocket delivers 32 satellites to space". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- ↑ Stephen Clark. "Russian Dnepr rocket lofts record haul of 37 satellites". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ↑ Stephen Clark (6 November 2014). "Japanese satellites launched on Soviet-era missile". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
- ↑ William Graham and Chris Bergin (2015-03-25). "Russia’s Dnepr rocket launches Kompsat-3A mission". NASASpaceflight.com.
- ↑ "Russia to pay Kazakhstan over US$1 million in compensation for damage from rocket crash". International Herald Tribune. 2006-10-03.
External links
- "Kosmotras launch service provider".
- "DNEPR User's guide" (PDF). MIT. November 2001.
- "Astronautix entry - R-36M2".
- "Space Calendar (JPL)". NASA.
- "Riding the strangest rocket in the world". BBC. March 2010.
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