 Photograpgh of Al-Abid from an unclassified United Nations report | |
| Function | Launch vehicle[1][2][3][4] [5] |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | MIMI (Ministry of Industry and Military Industrialization)[1] SRC (Space research Centre)[1] |
| Country of origin |  Iraq[1][2][3][4] |
| Size | |
| Height | 25 m[2] |
| Diameter | 0.88 m(First stage)[4] 1.25 m(Second stage)[1][4] |
| Mass | 48,000 kg[2] |
| Stages | 3 stages[2] |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO[1][2] | |
| Mass | 100-300 kg[1][3] into 200-500 km orbit(Planned)[1][3] |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Abandoned[4] |
| Launch sites | 230 km south of Baghdad[2] in al Anbar[1] |
| Total launches | 1[2] |
| First flight | 5 December 1989 (First stage only)[1][2][3][4] |
| First stage | |
| Diameter | 0.88 m[4] |
| Gross mass | 48,000 kg[2] |
| Propellant mass | 26,020 kg[1] |
| Powered by | Isayev S5.2 (9D21)[1] |
| Maximum thrust | sea-level:660.7 kN[1] vacuum:731.6 kN[1] 70,000 kgf (690 kN)[2] |
| Specific impulse | sea-level:2,285 metres per second (233.0 s)[1] vacuum:2,530 metres per second (258 s)[1] |
| Burn time | 90 s[1] |
| Propellant | IRFNA/UDMH[6] |
| Second stage | |
| Diameter | 1.25 m[1][4] |
| Propellant mass | 3,760 kg[1] |
| Powered by | Isayev S5.2 (9D21)[1] |
| Maximum thrust | vacuum:146.3 kN[1] |
| Specific impulse | vacuum:2,530 metres per second (258 s)[1] |
| Burn time | 65 s[1] |
| Propellant | DETA/UDMH[1][4] |
| Third stage | |
| Diameter | 1.25 m[3] |
| Powered by | SA-2 motor[2] |
The Al-Abid (Arabic: العابد) LV was an Iraqi three-stage "Satellite launch system", a civilian project that was commenced in 1988.[1] The Iraqis intended to launch an Al-Ta'ir satellite with the help of such a launch vehicle.[3] The Iraqis therefore pursued a LV with stages based on Scud missiles and the S-75 Dvina.[2] However, only the first stage could be tested in December 1989 and according to General Ra'ad the next stages could not be developed.[3][4] General Ra'ad says that not even the drawings of the second and third stage vehicles are available and that no final report could be produced.[4] UN inspectors and U.S intelligence did not offer many details regarding the Al-Abid launch vehicle as they were not interested in it.[4]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Brügge, Norbert. "Al-Abid LV". Norbert Brügge, Germany. Archived from the original on 16 September 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "al-Abid-Iraq Special Weapons". Federation of American Scientists. Archived from the original on 11 July 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Day, Dwayne. "Iraqi bird: Beyond Saddam's space program". The Space Review. Archived from the original on 24 October 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Day, Dwayne. "Saddam's space program". The Space Review. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019.
- ^ Day, Dwayne A. (January 16, 2023). "From the sand to the stars: Saddam Hussein's failed space program". The Space Review.
- ^ "R-11/SS-1B SCUD-A R-300 9K72 Elbrus/SS-1C SCUD-B". Federation of American Scientists. September 9, 2000. Archived from the original on March 7, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-21.