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astronautix.com Tsyklon


Family: Tsyklon. Country: Ukraine. Status: Hardware. Other Designations: Tsiklon. Library of Congress Designation: F-1. Department of Defence Designation: SL-11. ASCC Reporting Name: Scarp. Article Number: 11K67.

On 16 March and 1 August 1961 the Central Committee and Politburo approved development of Chelomei�s UR-200 (8K81) universal rocket. The UR-200 was to orbit Chelomei�s IS (Istrebitel Sputnik) ASAT; the US (Upravlenniye Sputnik) nuclear-powered naval intelligence satellite; and the Raketoplan combat re-entry vehicle. Trial flights of the missile began on 4 November 1963.

On October 13, 1964, Khrushchev was ousted from power. The new leadership, under Brezhnev, was adverse to all projects Khrushchev had supported. These included those of Chelomei. An expert commission under M V Keldysh was directed to examine all of Chelomei�s projects and make recommendations as to which should be cancelled. Keldysh found that Yangel�s R-36 rocket was superior to Chelomei�s UR-200 and that the Raketoplan was technically overly ambitious. The UR-200 and Raketoplan were accordingly cancelled, while the IS and US satellites were redesigned for launch by the R-36.

A government decree of 24 August 1965 formalised the decision and the Yangel bureau began design work in 1966. Required modifications to the R-36 were minimal; the IS and US Raketoplan-derived payloads had their own engines for insertion into final orbit. The Tsyklon 11K67 first test version was an adaptation of the 8K67 (SS-9 Mod 1) two stage ICBM and flew only briefly (1967 to 1968). It was quickly replaced by the definitive 11K69 Tsyklon 2 launch vehicle. The military project manager was L A Dolnikov.


Specifications

Launches: 7. Failures: 0. Success Rate: 100.00% pct. First Launch Date: 27 October 1967. Last Launch Date: 01 November 1968. LEO Payload: 3,000 kg. to: 185 km Orbit. at: 52.0 degrees. Liftoff Thrust: 241,300 kgf. Total Mass: 182,000 kg. Core Diameter: 3.0 m. Total Length: 39.7 m.


Tsyklon Chronology


1965 Aug 24 -
1967 Oct 27 - - 02:24 GMT. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC90.
1967 Dec 27 - - 11:31 GMT. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC90.
1968 Mar 22 - - 09:36 GMT. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC90.
1968 Apr 24 - - 16:04 GMT. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC90.
1968 Oct 19 - - 04:19 GMT. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC90.
1968 Oct 20 - - 04:04 GMT. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC90.
1968 Nov 1 - - 00:28 GMT. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC90.

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