Kosmos-3M

Kosmos-3M
(R-14 11K65M)
Drawing of the Kosmos-3M with bulges on payload fairing for launching SAR Lupe
FunctionOrbital launch vehicle
ManufacturerYuzhnoye / NPO Polyot
Country of originSoviet Union, Russia
Size
Height32.4 m (106 ft)
Diameter2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
Mass109,000 kg (240,000 lb)
Stages2
Capacity
Payload to Low Earth orbit
Mass1,500 kg (3,300 lb)
Payload to Sun-synchronous orbit
Mass775 kg (1,709 lb)
Launch history
StatusRetired
Launch sitesPlesetsk Cosmodrome,
Site 132
Site 133/3
Kapustin Yar Site 107
Total launches444
Success(es)424
Failure(s)20
First flight15 May 1967
Last flight27 April 2010
First stage – R-14U
Powered by1 RD-216
Maximum thrust1,485 kN (334,000 lbf)
Specific impulse291 seconds
Burn time131 seconds
PropellantAK27I / UDMH
Second stage – S3M
Powered by1 11D49[1]
Maximum thrust157 kN (35,000 lbf)
Specific impulse293 seconds
Burn time350 + 350 seconds
PropellantAK27I/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.

  1. ^ "Kosmos 11K65M". Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  2. ^ "С космодрома Плесецк запущена ракета-носитель с двумя спутниками". Lenta. 21 July 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  3. ^ "Чтобы виделось лучше". ВЗГЛЯД. 9 April 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.