On August 22, the next launch of the Dnepr carrier rocket took place at the Yasny missile base (Orenburg region). The purpose of the launch was to place the South Korean satellite KompSat-5 into orbit. This spacecraft will carry out remote sensing of the Earth and collect information needed by science. However, this launch was useful not only for South Korean scientists, but also for the Russian strategic missile forces and industry.
The fact is that the Dnepr launch vehicle is a slightly modified intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) of the R-36M family. This ammunition is also known under the names RS-20 (used in several international treaties regarding strategic weapons) and SS-18 Satan (NATO code designation). The R-36M missiles can be considered the most powerful component of the Russian strategic nuclear forces. Each of the fifty missiles in service is capable of delivering ten warheads with a capacity of 800 kilotons to targets. Thanks to this, the R-36M ICBMs can effectively carry out the tasks of nuclear deterrence.
With all the advantages of the R-36M family of missiles, their use has several ambiguous features. The production of these missiles ceased after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The division of the country put an end to the cooperation of the mass of enterprises scattered throughout its territory. Because of this, the Russian Strategic Missile Forces had to operate only those missiles that were produced before the collapse of the USSR. In addition, over time, another serious problem has emerged. The warranty period for rockets produced several years ago has begun to come to an end. With the help of a number of works and test launches, it was possible to gradually increase the warranty period for ICBMs of the R-36M family. To date, this parameter has been brought to 31 years of age.
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Given the timing of the production of missiles of a particular model of the R-36M family, it is easy to calculate that they will be removed from combat duty in the early twenties. Thus, the issue of disposal of ammunition removed from duty appears on the agenda. Before the direct cutting of metal structures, it is necessary to drain and process aggressive fuel and oxidizer, and cutting rockets itself is a complex technological task. As a result, the removal of the rocket from duty turns into a mass of additional costs. Our country has already faced similar problems, fulfilling the terms of some international treaties.
Back in the early nineties, there was a proposal not to cut the missiles being withdrawn from service, but to use them for peaceful purposes. The result of this proposal was the emergence of the international space company Kosmotras, organized by the space agencies of Russia and Ukraine. Later Kazakhstan joined them. Space industry specialists from the three countries have created a project for converting intercontinental ballistic missiles into launch vehicles. The project was named "Dnepr". Later, the project was updated in order to improve the characteristics of the launch vehicle. This project was named "Dnepr-M".
The first launch of the converted R-36M ICBM with a satellite instead of warheads took place on April 21, 1999 at the Baikonur cosmodrome. After that, the Kosmotras company carried out 17 more launches, only one of which (July 26, 2006) was unsuccessful. An interesting feature of the Dnepr launch vehicle is the possibility of the so-called. cluster launches. This means that the rocket carries several relatively small spacecraft at once. So, during a single emergency launch, the rocket had a payload in the form of 18 satellites for various purposes. In the course of successful launches, the Dnepr rocket twice put eight vehicles into orbit (June 29, 2004 and August 17, 2011).
The cost of launching one launch vehicle "Dnepr" is in the range of 30-32 million US dollars. At the same time, the payload, including the systems for assembling the spacecraft launched into orbit, is equal to 3700 kilograms. Thus, the cost of withdrawing a kilogram of cargo turns out to be noticeably less than that of other existing launch vehicles. This fact attracts customers, but the relatively small payload imposes corresponding restrictions. "Dnepr" or R-36M with a launch weight of about 210 tons are heavy only from the point of view of the classification of ballistic missiles. Launch vehicles with these characteristics fall into the light category.
It is worth noting that the idea of using intercontinental ballistic missiles to launch spacecraft was not new even in the early nineties. The prerequisites for such a use of strategic ammunition appeared in the late sixties, when the Cyclone launch vehicle was created on the basis of the R-36orb missile project. In 1975, the first model of the Cyclone rocket was put into service. Updated versions of "Cyclone" are still used to launch various spacecraft.
At the end of the eighties, on the basis of the UR-100N UTTH ICBM, a new Rokot launch vehicle was created. With a launch weight of less than 110 tons, this rocket, using the Briz-KS upper stage, can launch up to 2300 kilograms of payload into a low reference orbit. From 1990 to 2013, 19 Rokot launches were made, only one of which ended in an accident (October 8, 2005).
In March 1993, the first Start rocket was launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, created on the basis of the Topol ICBM complex. This solid-propellant launch vehicle is maximally unified with strategic ammunition, and not only in terms of components and systems. The Start is launched from a mobile soil launcher, also borrowed from the Topol complex. "Start" has the most modest weight parameters. With its own launch weight of less than 48-50 tons, this launch vehicle brings no more than 400-420 kg of payload into a low reference orbit.
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In 2003, a test launch of the new Strela launch vehicle took place, again based on the UR-100N UTTH ICBM. Strela's characteristics differ markedly from those of Rokot. With a slightly lower (about 105 tons) launch weight, the new carrier has a payload of no more than 1.7 tons. Probably, it is precisely because of such low characteristics that the Strela missiles were launched only twice, in 2003 and 2013.
Of all the available carrier rockets, created on the basis of ICBMs, the Dnepr is currently the most actively used. However, with all the advantages available, these missiles will be used to a limited extent in the near future. The reason for this is the relatively small number of available ICBMs of the R-36M family and the end of their service life. Thus, within the next 8-10 years, no more than two to three dozen launches can be made using Dnipro missiles. As for alternative options for using intercontinental ballistic missiles for launching spacecraft, the Rokot launch vehicle is currently the most promising. A fairly large number of UR-100N UTTH missiles with expiring warranty periods still remain in the missile units. Other projects, for example Start, are not yet relevant due to the remaining service lives of the Topol base missiles.
Regardless of the number of remaining ICBMs of a particular model and the available service life, the chosen method of "disposal" looks interesting and promising. Converting a ballistic missile into a launch vehicle saves a significant amount on fuel disposal and cutting the ammunition itself. In addition, the commercial approach to spacecraft launches leads to a full payback of the project and even some benefits. Thus, it was possible to find the most profitable way to dispose of missiles, and in the future it would be better to reduce the rate of cutting rockets into scrap metal, using old ammunition as a means of delivering spacecraft into orbit.
Launch of the Rokot LV. The moment of the launch vehicle exit from the TPK
