|location=the
ISS}}
(with ST-1)|location=
TLI}}
|status = Active
|sites =
Site 109/95,
BaikonurLC-13,
Yasny
|first= 21 April 1999
|last=
|launches = 16
|success = 15
|fail = 1
|partial =
|stagedata =
| Stageno | First |
|---|
| Engines | 1 RD-264 |
|---|
| Thrust | |
|---|
| Si | 318 s |
|---|
| Burntime | 130 seconds |
|---|
| Fuel | N2O4/UDMH |
|---|
| Stageno | Second |
|---|
| Engines | 1 RD-0255 |
|---|
| Thrust | |
|---|
| Si | 340 sec |
|---|
| Burntime | 190 seconds |
|---|
| Fuel | N2O4/UDMH |
|---|
| Stageno | Third |
|---|
| Engines | 1 RD-869 |
|---|
| Thrust | |
|---|
| Si | 317 sec |
|---|
| Burntime | 1,000 seconds |
|---|
| Fuel | N2O4/UDMH |
|---|
}}
The
Dnepr rocket (; ) 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.
Converted missile
The Dnepr is based on the
R-36MUTTH ICBM called the
SS-18 Satan by NATO designed by the
Yuzhnoe Design Bureau in
Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. Its control system developed and produced by the
JSC "Khartron",
Kharkiv. The Dnepr is
three-stage rocket using storable
hypergolic liquid propellants. The launch vehicles used for satellite launches are withdrawn from service with the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces and stored for commercial use. A group of 150 ICBMs can be converted for use and are available until
2020. The Dnepr can be launched from
Baikonur in Kazakhstan and a newly created Cosmodrome at the
Dombarovsky launch base, near Yasny, in the Orenburg region of Russia.
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 fourteen times for commercial purposes with a single failure.
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
! style="text-align:left;" | Flight
! style="text-align:left;" | Date
! style="text-align:left;" | Payload
! style="text-align:left;" | Orbit
! style="text-align:left;" | Site
|- style="vertical-align:top; border-top:3px double #aaa;"
| 1 || April 21, 1999 || UoSAT-12 || 650 km circular LEO at 65˚ inclination || Baikonur
|- style="vertical-align:top; border-top:1px solid #aaa;"
| 2 || September 26, 2000 || MegSat-1 (Italy)/UniSat (Italy)/TiungSat-1 (Malaysia)/ SaudiSat-1A & SaudiSat 1B (Saudi Arabia)|| 650 km circular LEO at 65˚ inclination || Baikonur
|- style="vertical-align:top; border-top:1px solid #aaa;"
| 3 || December 20, 2002 || LatinSat 1 & LatinSat 2 (Argentina)/SaudiSat-1S (Saudi Arabia)/UniSat 2 (Italy)/Rubin 2 (Germany) || 650 km circular LEO at 65˚ inclination || Baikonur
|- style="vertical-align:top; border-top:1px solid #aaa;"
| 4 || June 29, 2004 || 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-synchronic orbit at 98˚ inclination || Baikonur
|- style="vertical-align:top; border-top:1px solid #aaa;"
| 5 || August 24, 2005 || OICETS & INDEX (Japan) || 600 km × 50 km Sun-synchronic orbit at 98˚ inclination || Baikonur
|- style="vertical-align:top; border-top:1px solid #aaa;"
| 6 || July 12, 2006 || Genesis I (USA) || 560 km circular LEO at 65˚ inclination || Yasny
|- style="vertical-align:top; border-top:1px solid #aaa;"
| 7 || July 26, 2006 || 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
|- style="vertical-align:top; border-top:1px solid #aaa;"
| 8 || 17 April 2007 || EgyptSat 1/SaudiSat 3/SaudiComSat 3-7 /AKS 1/AKS 2/Cal Poly Picosatellite Project 3 &4/CAPE 1/Libertad 1/AeroCube 2/CubeSat TestBed 1/MAST || 692 km × 665 km Sun synchronous orbit at 98˚ inclination ||Baikonur
|- style="vertical-align:top; border-top:1px solid #aaa;"
| 9 || 15 June 2007 || TerraSAR-X || 514 km circular LEO at 97˚ inclination || Baikonur
|- style="vertical-align:top; border-top:1px solid #aaa;"
| 10 || 28 June 2007 || Genesis II || 560 km circular LEO at 65˚ inclination || Yasny
|- style="vertical-align:top; border-top:1px solid #aaa;"
| 11 || 29 August 2008 || RapidEye 1/2/3/4/5 || || Baikonur
|- style="vertical-align:top; border-top:1px solid #aaa;"
| 12 || 1 October 2008 || THEOS || SSO || Yasny
|- style="vertical-align:top; border-top:1px solid #aaa;"
| 13 || July 29, 2009 || DubaiSat-1/Deimos-1/UK-DMC 2/Nanosat 1B/AprizeSat-3/AprizeSat-4 || SSO || Baikonur
|- style="vertical-align:top; border-top:1px solid #aaa;"
| 14 || 8 April, 2010 || Cryosat-2 || Polar|| Baikonur
|- style="vertical-align:top; border-top:1px solid #aaa;"
| 15 || 15 June, 2010 || Prisma, Picard, BPA-1 || SSO || Yasny
|-
| 16 || 21 June, 2010 || TanDEM-X || LEO || Baikonur
|-
|colspan="5"|
Planned launches
|-
|}
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. 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.
References
External links
Category:Ukrainian space launch vehicles
