Shtil'

Launch vehicle

In spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into outer space. A launch system includes the launch vehicle, the launch pad and other infrastructure....

Shtil (Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

: (Штиль - calm (weather)), is a converted SLBM used for launching artificial satellites into orbit. It is based on the R-29RM designed by State Rocket Center Makeyev

Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau

The Makeyev Design Bureau is a Russian missile design company located at in Miass, Russia. Opened in December 1947 as SKB-385, the company is the main designer of submarine-launched ballistic missiles in Russia. The organization was named in honor of Victor Makeyev. Its full official name is...

and related to the Volna

Volna

Space launch vehicle Volna , is a converted SLBM used for launching artificial satellites into orbit. It is based on the R-29R designed by State Rocket Center Makayev and related to the Shtil' Launch Vehicle . The Volna is a 3 stage launch vehicle that uses liquid propellant...

Launch Vehicle. The Shtil' is a 3 stage launch vehicle that uses liquid propellant. It is the first launch vehicle to successfully launch a payload into orbit from a submarine, although launch from land based structures is possible as well.

This is the baseline version of the launch vehicle. The payload is placed in a special capsule in the space head next to the third stage engine nozzle. The missiles used are withdrawn from active service with the Russian Navy and converted to civilian launch vehicles by removing the warheads and antennas. To inject the payload into the right orbit the flight software is adjusted and additional measuring equipment is installed. Launches can be performed from Delta IV

Delta class submarine

The Delta class is a class of submarines which formed the backbone of the Soviet and Russian strategic submarine fleet since its introduction in 1973...

submarines while submerged.

Shtil'-2.1

A proposed version under development of the Shtil' launch vehicle features the payload in a special section on top of the space head. This increases the possible volume and weight of the payload inserted into orbit.

Shtil'-2R

A further developed version of the launch vehicle features a larger payload section on top of the space head. The additional space is used for larger and heavier payloads and an additional boost engine to propel the payload in higher orbits. The increase in length of the launch vehicle means that it can only be launched from a ground based launching complex.

Shtil'-3

The final proposed version of the Shtil' launch vehicle features a redesigned third stage with enlarged propellant tanks. The space head used on previous version is omitted and replaced by a newly designed section for instruments and the payload adapter. The payload section can, when necessary for the mission, include an additional booster engine.

Performance

Because of its mobile launch platform the Shtil' launch vehicle can reach a large number of different inclinations and both sun-synchronous orbit

Sun-synchronous orbit

A Sun-synchronous orbit is a geocentric orbit which combines altitude and inclination in such a way that an object on that orbit ascends or descends over any given point of the Earth's surface at the same local mean solar time. The surface illumination angle will be nearly the same every time...

and low Earth orbit

Low Earth orbit

A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...

. The possible payload is determined by the desired mission. On a typical mission to a 200 km circular orbit at an inclination of 79 degrees the Shtil' has a payload of 160 kg. Proposed version have a higher payload capacity of up to 430 kg for the Shtil-3.

Launch History

On 7 July 1998, the Shtil' launch vehicle placed two payloads in Low Earth Orbit. The German TubSat-N
Tubsat-N
Tubsat-N was a German miniaturized satellite for communication designed by the University of Berlin. The satellite was launched on July 7, 1998 by the Russian submarine K-407 Novomoskovsk in Barents Sea using a Shtil' rocket....

and TubSat-N1 were launched from the Delta IV submarine K-407 "Novomoskovsk"
Russian submarine K-407 Novomoskovsk
Novomoskovsk is a Project 667BDRM Delfin-class ballistic missile submarine of the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet.-Background:...

of the Russian Northern Fleet 3rd Flotilla. The launch was made from a firing range in the Barents Sea
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...

. The payloads weighing 8 kg and 3 kg respectively were placed in a 400 x 776 km orbit at an inclination of 78.9 degrees. This was the first time satellites were launched from a submarine.
On 26 May 2006, the Shtil' launch vehicle inserted the Kompass 2 satellite into Low Earth Orbit. The launch was performed from the Barents Sea by the Delta IV Submarine K-84 "Ekaterinburg". The Kompass 2 satellite has a weight of 77 kg and was put in a 500 km high orbit at an inclination of 79.8 degrees.

Cancelled launch

The South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n satellite SumbandilaSat
SumbandilaSat
SumbandilaSat , is a South African micro earth observation satellite, launched 2009-09-17 on a Soyuz-2 launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome...

, an 80-kg microsatellite with a multispectral imager as primary payload, was scheduled for launch from the Sthil' launch vehicle in early 2007. SumbandilaSat
SumbandilaSat
SumbandilaSat , is a South African micro earth observation satellite, launched 2009-09-17 on a Soyuz-2 launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome...

was eventually launched into a 500-km low-earth orbit on 17 September 2009 on a Soyuz-2.1b rocket.

External links

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