Ukraine develops carrier rocket without Russian components to replace Zenit
Ukraine has developed its own carrier rocket, the Mayak-3.9S, that outstrips the Zenit, which requires Russian components, announced Oleksandr Dehtyarev, CEO of the Yuzhnoye Design Office, during a press conference.
“The Yuzhnoye Design Office has developed the Mayak 3.9S rocket, which quite seriously outstrips the Zenit in its characteristics,” Dehtyarev said. He specified that the rocket was designed to be launched from Baikonur or Sea Launch, as well as from a possible new launch site.
To replace the RD-171, the first stage engine of the Zenit rocket, the Design Office has developed the RD-815 engine, which has 250 tons of thrust. Three engines make up the first stage of the Mayak 3.9S, he noted, adding that the overall specifications are slightly superior to the RD-171. The CEO admitted that there are still several issues with production.
The most recent Zenit launch took place at the end of December 2017 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. It successfully launched the Angolan satellite, Angosat, into orbit. The rocket has been used for more than 80 launches since 1985.
The Zenit is a two-stage intermediate-class launch vehicle. The RD-171 first stage engine was developed by NPO Energomash in the Soviet Union. The RD-120 was developed for the rocket’s second stage. In May, Energomash announced that it would be resuming serial production of the RD-120, which had been serially produced at the Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant in Ukraine.