 Drawing of the Kosmos-3M with bulges on payload fairing for launching SAR Lupe | |
| Function | Orbital launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Yuzhnoye / NPO Polyot |
| Country of origin | Soviet Union, Russia |
| Size | |
| Height | 32.4 m (106 ft) |
| Diameter | 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) |
| Mass | 109,000 kg (240,000 lb) |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to Low Earth orbit | |
| Mass | 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) |
| Payload to Sun-synchronous orbit | |
| Mass | 775 kg (1,709 lb) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Site 132 Site 133/3 Kapustin Yar Site 107 |
| Total launches | 444 |
| Success(es) | 424 |
| Failure(s) | 20 |
| First flight | 15 May 1967 |
| Last flight | 27 April 2010 |
| First stage – R-14U | |
| Powered by | 1 RD-216 |
| Maximum thrust | 1,485 kN (334,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 291 seconds |
| Burn time | 131 seconds |
| Propellant | AK27I / UDMH |
| Second stage – S3M | |
| Powered by | 1 11D49[1] |
| Maximum thrust | 157 kN (35,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 293 seconds |
| Burn time | 350 + 350 seconds |
| Propellant | AK27I/UDMH |
The Kosmos-3M (Russian: Космос-3М meaning "Cosmos", GRAU index 11K65M) was a Russian space launch vehicle, member of the Kosmos rocket family. It was a liquid-fueled two-stage launch vehicle, first launched in 1967 and with over 420 successful launches to its name.
The Kosmos-3M used UDMH fuel and AK27I oxidizer (red fuming nitric acid) to lift roughly 1,400 kg (3,100 lb) of payload into orbit. It differed from the earlier Kosmos-3 in its finer control of the second-stage burn, allowing operators to tune the thrust and even channel it through nozzles that helped orient the rocket for the launching of multiple satellites at one time.
PO Polyot manufactured these launch vehicles in the Russian city of Omsk for decades. It was originally scheduled to be retired from service in 2011;[2] however, in April 2010 the Commander of the Russian Space Forces confirmed that it would be retired by the end of 2010.[3] One further launch, with Kanopus-ST, was planned; however, this was cancelled in late 2012 as the launch vehicle had exceeded its design life while in storage ahead of the launch.
- ^ "Kosmos 11K65M". Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
- ^ "С космодрома Плесецк запущена ракета-носитель с двумя спутниками". Lenta. 21 July 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
- ^ "Чтобы виделось лучше". ВЗГЛЯД. 9 April 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.