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 Zenit-2 launch vehicle ready for launch atBaikonur | |
| PivdenMash, Zenit | |
Native name | Південмаш |
Romanized name | Pivdenmash |
| Formerly | Russian:Южмаш,romanized: Yuzhmash, ЮМЗ (YuMZ) |
| Company type | State-owned enterprise |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Genre | Defense industry Space industry Aerospace industry |
| Founded | 21 July 1944; 81 years ago (1944-07-21) inDnipropetrovsk,USSR |
| Headquarters | 1, Kryvorizka street,, |
| Products | Launch vehicles,ballistic missiles,rocket engines,spacecraft,landing gears,tractors,trolleybuses,castings,forgings |
Number of employees | 7,000 (2017)[1] |
| Parent | State Space Agency of Ukraine |
| Website | yuzhmash.com |
TheState Enterprise "Production Amalgamation 'Southern Machine-Building Plant named afterO.M. Makarov'", officially abbreviated asPivdenmash (Ukrainian:Південмаш) and previously asYuzhmash (Russian:Южмаш,lit. 'Southern Mechanical Engineering'), is aUkrainian state-owned aerospace and defence manufacturer. Prior to 1991, it was aSoviet state-owned factory.
Pivdenmash producesspacecraft,launch vehicles (rockets),liquid-propellant rockets,landing gears,castings,forgings, tractors, tools, and industrial products. The company is headquartered inDnipro, and reports to theState Space Agency of Ukraine. It works with international aerospace partners in 23 countries.
Pivdenmash operated initially as "plant 586" in theSoviet Union. In 1954, Soviet aviation engineerMikhail Yangel established the autonomous design bureau designatedOKB-586, from the former chief designer's division of plant 586. Yangel had previously headedOKB-1 (todayRKK Energiya) and was primarily a supporter of storable propellant technology – unlikeSergei Korolev at OKB-1, who was a supporter of missiles using cryogenic propellants. To pursue development ofballistic missiles using storable liquid propellants, Mikhail Yangel had received authorization to convert the chief designer's division of the plant into an autonomous design bureau. Following this, OKB-586 was designated Southern Design Bureau (better known asKB Pivdenne) and plant 586 was renamed Southern Machine-Building Plant in 1966, with a focus on the design and production of ballistic missiles. The plant was later renamed Southern Machine-Building Production Union, or Yuzhmash (Ukraine).
Missiles produced at Pivdenmash included the first nuclear armed Soviet rocketR-5M (SS-3 'Shyster'), theR-12 Dvina (SS-4 'Sandal'), theR-14 Chusovaya (SS-5 'Skean'), the first widely deployed Soviet ICBMR-16 (SS-7 'Saddler'), theR-36 (SS-9 'Scarp'), theMR-UR-100 Sotka (SS-17 'Spanker'), and the R-36M (SS-18 'Satan'). During the Soviet era, the plant was capable of producing of up to 120 ICBMs a year. In the late 1980s, Pivdenmash was selected to be the main production facility of theRT-2PM2 Topol-M ICBM (SS-27 "Sickle B").
After the beginning ofperestroika, demand for military production declined significantly, and the Pivdenmash product line was expanded to include non-military uses such as civilianmachinery. One line of products added after 1992 aretrolleybuses. Models include the articulated YuMZ T1 (1992–2008), its non-articulated brother YuMZ T2 (1993–2008) and more modern YuMZ E-186 (2005–2006) which features a low floor cabin.Leonid Kuchma, long-time chief manager (1986–1992) of the company, became thePrime Minister in 1992, and laterPresident of Ukraine in 1994.
In addition to production facilities in Dnipro, Pivdenne Production Association includes the Pavlohrad Mechanical Plant, which specializes in producing solid-fuel missiles. Pivdenmash's importance was further bolstered by its links to Ukraine's former President Leonid Kuchma, who worked at Pivdenmash between 1975 and 1992. He was the plant's general manager from 1986 to 1991.[citation needed]
In February 2015, following a year of strained relations, Russia announced that it would sever its "joint program with Ukraine to launchDnepr rockets and [was] no longer interested in buying UkrainianZenit boosters, deepening problems for [Ukraine's] space program and its struggling Pivdenmash factory".[2] With the loss of Russian business some thought that the only hope for the company was increased international business which seemed unlikely in the time frame available.[3] Bankruptcy seemed certain as of February 2015, but was averted.[3]
On 14 August 2017, the Institute of International Strategic Studies issued a report presenting evidence that "North Korea has acquired a high-performance liquid-propellant engine from illicit networks in Russia and Ukraine", likely produced by Pivdenmash facilities.[4] Both the company[5] and the Ukrainian government[6] denied the allegation.
In October 2016, An Antares 230 launch vehicle using a Pivdenmash core launched theCygnus OA-5 mission fromWallops Island to deliver supplies to theISS.[7] This was Antares' return-to-flight following the failedCygnus Orb-3 mission nearly two years earlier, resulting from a faultyAJ-26 engine. The vehicle was modified to utilize theNPO EnergomashRD-181 engine, which has since performed flawlessly.
In December 2017, after a two-year hiatus, the final Zenit launch vehicle was launched byRoscosmos fromBaikonur Cosmodrome to deliverAngoSat 1.[8]
In February–March 2018, Pivdenmash announced plans to develop a testing platform forHyperloop technology developed byElon Musk and was scheduled for completion in 2019 inDnipro,[9] though theMinister of Infrastructure of Ukraine later cancelled this as an "absurd" project.[10] Even so, by 2021, the group was reported to have partnerships with 23 countries, including Saudi Arabia.[11]
In July 2022, during theRussian invasion of Ukraine, the Pivdenmash facility in Dnipro was struck by a Russian long-range cruise missile attack.[12] The plant was targeted again during theOctober–November 2022 nationwide missile strikes on Ukraine on 17 November 2022.[13]
On August 1, 2023, the final Antares 230+ lifted off from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia withCygnus NG-19 to resupply theInternational Space Station. Owing to engine unavailability and the inability of Pivdenmash to produce further first stages due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, future Cygnus spacecraft will initially be launched aboardSpaceX'sFalcon 9 launcher before transitioning to theAntares 330.[14][15] This vehicle uses a new first stage developed byFirefly Aerospace and the existing second stage from the Antares 230+. Pivdenmash will no longer be involved in the design or manufacturing of this vehicle.
On November 21, 2024, the infrastructure was struck by a Russian non-nuclearIRBM (Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile).[16][17]
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Pivdenmash is known for its military and space industry products, and earned the city of Dnipro the nickname of "Rocket City".
The company had been the keymissile producer forSovietICBM andspace exploration programs. Historic and Pivdenmash launch systems included:
Created in 1944 as Dnipropetrovsk Tractor Factory, it was later expanded.
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