Rockot

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The Rockot (also Rokot) (Russian: Ро́кот) is a Russian space launch vehicle that can launch a payload of 1,950 kilogrammes into a 200 kilometre high Earth orbit with 63° inclination. It is supplied and operated by Eurockot Launch Services. The first launches started in the 1990s from Baikonur Cosmodrome out of a silo. Later commercial launches commenced from Plesetsk Cosmodrome using a launch ramp specially rebuilt from one for the Cosmos-3M rocket. The cost of a commercial launch is estimated at 13 to 15 million United States dollars.

Rockot's total mass is 107 tonnes, its length 29 metres and its maximum diameter 2.5 metres. The liquid-fueled rocket comprises three stages: the lower two based on the Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile UR-100N (also known as the SS-19); the third stage a Breeze-KM. All stages use UDMH (unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine) as fuel and dinitrogen tetroxide as oxidiser. The Strela is a similar rocket based on the SS-19.

The first suborbital test lauch succeeded on 1990 November 20 in Baikonur Cosmodrome. On 1994 December 26 Rockot brought its first satellite into Earth orbit. Eurockot Launch Services GmbH, a joint venture between EADS 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 on 2000 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 a European Space Agency satellite, CryoSat, the launch vehicle 2nd stage main engine was not shut down properly, resulting in a castrophic failure and automatic termination of the launch mission by the on-board computer, resulting in the loss of the payload.

[edit] Launch table

as of: 2006 July 28

Date (UTC)	Type	Launch site	Payload	Payload type	Notes
1990 November 20	Rockot/Breeze-K	Ba LC131	–	experimental payload	Suborbital, success
1991, 20 December	Rockot/Breeze-K	Ba LC175/1	–	experimental payload	Suborbital, success
1994, 26 December	Rockot/Breeze-K	Ba LC175/1	Radio-ROSTO	Amateur radio satellite	success, first orbital mission
1999, 22 December	Rockot/Breeze-K	Pl LC133	RSVN-40	experimental payload	no launch, rocket irreperably damaged during preparation
2000, 16 May	Rockot/Breeze-KM	Pl LC133	SimSat-1 und 2	Iridium-mock-ups	success
2002, 17 March	Rockot/Breeze-KM	Pl LC133	GRACE-1 und 2	research satellite	success
2002, 20 June	Rockot/Breeze-KM	Pl LC133	Iridium-97 und 98	communication satellites	success
2003, 30 June	Rockot/Breeze-KM	Pl LC133	MIMOSA, DTUSat, MOST, Cute-I, QuakeSat, AAU-Cubesat, Can X-1, Cubesat-XI, Monitor-E mockup	small satellites and Monitor-E-Mockup	success
2003, 30 October	Rockot/Breeze-KM	Pl LC133	SERVIS-1	Japanese test satellite	success
2005, 26 August	Rockot/Breeze-KM	Pl LC133	Monitor-E1	earth observation satellite	success
2005, 8 October	Rockot/Breeze-KM	Pl LC133	CryoSat	earth observation satellite	failure, launch terminated after 2nd stage main engine was not shut down correctly, resulting in an explosion, causing the vehicle to exceed its flight envelope limit and thereby causing the automatic termination of the launch and the re-entry of the combined Rockot 2nd stage/3rd stage/CryoSat spacecraft stack
2006, 28 July	Rockot/Breeze-KM	Pl LC133	KOMPSAT 2	earth observation satellite	success

After the failure of 2005, 8 October, 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 the South Korean Kompsat-2 earth observation satellite launch which took place successfully on July 28, 2006.

[edit] External links

• www.eurockot.com Website of Eurockot Launch Service Provider
• www.russianspaceweb.com/rockot.html Rockot history
• Space.com article on CryoSat launch failure