Zenit-3SLB
Zenit-3SLB
Expendable carrier rocket
The Zenit 3SLB or Zenit-3M was a Ukrainian expendable carrier rocket derived from the Zenit-2SB. It was a member of the Zenit family of rockets, which were designed by the Yuzhnoye Design Office. Produced at Yuzhmash, the rocket was a modified version of the Zenit-3SL, designed to be launched from a conventional launch pad rather than the Sea Launch Ocean Odyssey platform. Most of components of the rocket were produced in Russia. The Ukrainian space industry was highly integrated with that of Russia due to its Soviet heritage, but that cooperation was interrupted by the Russo-Ukrainian War beginning in 2014, which effectively led to a hiatus in the Zenit program.[2] The subsequent Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 saw damage to its manufacturing facilities due to Russian missile strikes, and what survived those strikes pivoted to producing military weapons.[3]
Launches of Zenit-3SLB rockets were conducted from Site 45/1 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Commercial launches were conducted by Land Launch, and used the designation 3SLB, whilst launches conducted by Federal Space Agency Roskosmos or the Russian Space Forces were planned to use the designation 3M.
It consisted of a Zenit 2SB (Zenit-2M) core vehicle, with a Block DM-SLB upper stage by RSC Energia (Russia). The rocket's fairing was developed by Lavochkin (Khimki, Moscow, Russia).
The launch services were provided by "Land Launch", a subsidiary of Sea Launch, and Space International Services, a Russian/Ukrainian joint venture.
The first launch of a Zenit-3SLB occurred on 28 April 2008, carrying the Israeli AMOS-3 satellite. This was also the first commercial Zenit launch from Baikonur since a failed Globalstar launch in 1998, and the first launch to be conducted by the Land Launch consortium.
