Kosmos-3M
{{Short description|Russian space launch vehicle}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox rocket
|name = Kosmos-3M
(R-14 11K65M)
|image = Kosmos-3M 1.svg
|upright = 0.5
|caption = Drawing of the Kosmos-3M with bulges on payload fairing for launching SAR Lupe
|function = Orbital launch vehicle
|manufacturer = Yuzhnoye / NPO Polyot
|country-origin = Soviet Union, Russia
|cpl-year =
|cpl =
|height = {{cvt|32.4|m}}
|diameter = {{cvt|2.4|m}}
|mass = {{cvt|109000|kg}}
|stages = 2
|capacities =
{{Infobox Rocket/Payload|location=Low Earth orbit|mass={{cvt|1500|kg}}}}
{{Infobox Rocket/Payload|location=Sun-synchronous orbit|mass={{cvt|775|kg}}}}
|status = Retired
|sites = Plesetsk Cosmodrome,
Site 132
Site 133/3
Kapustin Yar Site 107
|first = 15 May 1967
|last = 27 April 2010
|launches = 444
|success = 424
|fail = 20
|partial =
|stagedata =
{{Infobox Rocket/Stage
|type=stage
|stageno=First
|name = R-14U
|engines = 1 RD-216
|thrust = {{cvt|1485|kN}}
|SI = 291 seconds
|burntime = 131 seconds
{{Infobox Rocket/Stage
|type=stage
|stageno=Second
|name = S3M
|engines = 1 11D49{{cite web|title=Kosmos 11K65M|url=http://www.astronautix.com/k/kosmos11k65m.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011015701/http://www.astronautix.com/k/kosmos11k65m.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 October 2016|access-date=30 May 2017}}
|thrust = {{cvt|157|kN}}
|SI = 293 seconds
|burntime = 350 + 350 seconds
}}
The Kosmos-3M ({{langx|ru|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 {{cvt|1400|kg}} 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;{{cite web| url=http://www.lenta.ru/news/2009/07/21/rocket/| title=С космодрома Плесецк запущена ракета-носитель с двумя спутниками| date=2009-07-21| publisher=Lenta| access-date=2009-07-21}} however, in April 2010 the Commander of the Russian Space Forces confirmed that it would be retired by the end of 2010.{{cite web|url=http://www.vz.ru/society/2010/4/9/391489.html|title=Чтобы виделось лучше|date=9 April 2010|publisher=ВЗГЛЯД|access-date=27 April 2010}} 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.
Launches
{{Main|List of Kosmos launches}}
{{Incomplete list|date=March 2020}}
Accidents
A total of 446 Kosmos 3Ms were launched from 1967 to 2010, with 22 failures. Some of the more noteworthy ones:
On 22 December 1970, a launch of a target vehicle for ASAT tests lost thrust at liftoff and fell back onto the pad at Plesetsk, exploding and badly damaging it.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}
On 26 June 1973, a Kosmos 3M exploded on the pad at Plesetsk during a propellant loading accident, killing nine people.{{cite web|url=http://www.avionews.com/index.php?corpo=see_news_home.php&news_id=1075972&pagina_chiamante=index.php|title=It happened today... on June 26th|publisher=AvioNews}}
An attempted launch of an Intercosmos scientific satellite on 3 June 1975 failed 84 seconds into the launch when the first stage engine shut down.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}
An attempted launch of a military radar calibration satellite on 25 January 1983 suffered another first stage failure about 40 seconds into launch when the RD-219 started losing thrust. The onboard computer automatically shut the engine off and the launch vehicle fell into the Northern Dvina. Due to the tense relations between the U.S. and Soviet Union at this time, the U.S. military was widely suspected of having shot down the launch vehicle and General Secretary Yuri Andropov personally informed of this possibility. However, a group of locals ice fishing in the Dvina had witnessed the booster plunge into the river and reported what they'd seen to authorities. After this and a quick examination of telemetry, sabotage was ruled out. The failure was traced to high-frequency combustion instability, which had been a problem with the RD-219 engine and was also responsible for the 1970 and 1975 Kosmos 3M failures. The engine was redesigned and no further launches were lost due to first stage engine failures.{{citation needed |date=May 2017}}
More recently, on 21 November 2000, a Kosmos 3M launcher failed to place the QuickBird 1 satellite into orbit due to a failure of its second stage. The launch vehicle and satellite reentered the atmosphere over Uruguay, and an inquest into the accident was inconclusive.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.russianspaceweb.com/cosmos3.html Cosmos – 1, 3, 3M and 3MU ]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120128151457/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/kos1k65m.htm Encyclopedia Astronautica entry]
{{Russian launch vehicles}}
{{Orbital launch systems}}