 Zenit-2 atSite 45/1 | |
| Function | Carrier rocket |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Yuzhmash |
| Country of origin | Soviet Union (Ukraine) |
| Size | |
| Height | 57 metres (187 ft)[1] |
| Diameter | 3.9 metres (13 ft)[1] |
| Mass | 460,000 kilograms (1,010,000 lb)[1] |
| Stages | Two |
| Capacity | |
| Payload toLEO | |
| Mass | 13,740 kilograms (30,290 lb) 11,420 kilograms (25,180 lb) (ISS orbit)[1] |
| Payload toSSO | |
| Mass | 5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb) |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | Zenit |
| Derivative work | Zenit-2M Zenit-3SL |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | BaikonurSite 45 |
| Total launches | 36[2] |
| Success(es) | 28 |
| Failure | 7 |
| Partial failure | 1 |
| First flight | 13 April 1985 |
| Last flight | 10 June 2004 |
| First stage | |
| Powered by | 1RD-171 |
| Maximum thrust | 8,180 kilonewtons (1,840,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 337s |
| Burn time | 150 seconds |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
| Second stage | |
| Powered by | 1RD-120 1RD-8 |
| Maximum thrust | 912 kilonewtons (205,000 lbf) 79.5 kilonewtons (17,900 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 349s |
| Burn time | 315 seconds |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
TheZenit-2 was aUkrainian, previouslySoviet,expendablecarrier rocket. First flown in 1985, it has been launched 37 times, with 6 failures. It is a member of theZenit family of rockets designed byYuzhmash.
With a 13–15 ton payload inLEO, it was intended as up-middle-class launcher greater than 7-ton-payload middleSoyuz and smaller than 20-ton-payload heavyProton. Zenit-2 would be certified for crewed launches and placed in a specially builtlaunch pad atBaykonur spaceport, carrying the new crewed partially reusableZarya spacecraft that was developed in the late 1980s but then cancelled. Also in the 1980s,Vladimir Chelomey's firm proposed the never-realised 15-ton Uraganspaceplane, which would have been launched by the Zenit-2.
A modified version, the Zenit-2S, is used as the first two stages of theSea LaunchZenit-3SL rocket.[3] Launches of Zenit-2 rockets are conducted fromBaikonur CosmodromeSite 45/1. A second pad, 45/2, was also constructed, but was used for only two launches before being destroyed in an explosion.[4] A third pad,Site 35 at thePlesetsk Cosmodrome, was never completed, and work was abandoned after thedissolution of the Soviet Union.[5]
The Zenit-2 had its last flight in 2004; it has been superseded by theZenit-2M, which incorporates enhancements made during the development of the Zenit-3SL. The Zenit-2 has a fairly low flight rate, as the Russian government usually avoids flying national-security payloads on Ukrainian rockets. Zenit-2M itself flew only twice: in 2007 and 2011.
During the late 1990s, the Zenit-2 was marketed for commercial launches. Only one such launch was conducted, with a group ofGlobalstar satellites, which ended in failure after a computer error resulted in premature cutoff of the second stage.
The second stage, called the SL-16 by western governments, along with the second stages of theVostok andKosmos launch vehicles, makes up about 20% of the total mass of launch debris in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).[6] An analysis determined that of the 50 “statistically most concerning” debris objects in low Earth orbit, the top 20 were all SL-16 upper stages.[7]
 Ukrainian launch vehicles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cyclone (Tsyklon) |  | |
| Zenit | ||
| Mayak | ||
| Dnipro (Dnepr) | ||
| International projects | ||
