Tsyklon-3

Tsyklon-3 (Tsiklon-3)

Tsyklon-3 on display in downtown Dnipro
Function	Carrier rocket
Manufacturer	Yuzhmash
Country of origin	Soviet Union (Ukraine)
Size
Height	39.27 m (128.8 ft)
Diameter	3 m (9.8 ft)
Mass	189,000 kg (417,000 lb)
Stages	3
Capacity
Payload to low Earth orbit
Mass	4,100 kg (9,000 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	R-36, Tsyklon
Derivative work	Tsyklon-4, Cyclone-4M
Comparable	Delta II
Launch history
Status	Retired[1]
Launch sites	Plesetsk Cosmodrome LC-32
Total launches	122
Success(es)	114
Failure(s)	8
First flight	24 June 1977
Last flight	30 January 2009[1]
Type of passengers/cargo	Tselina Meteor Okean Geo-IK Strela
First stage – 11K69
Powered by	1 RD-261 module (3 RD-250PM engines)
Maximum thrust	3,032 kN (682,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	301 sec
Burn time	120 seconds
Propellant	N2O4 / UDMH
Second stage – 11S692
Powered by	1 RD-262
Maximum thrust	941 kN (212,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	318 sec
Burn time	160 seconds
Propellant	N2O4 / UDMH
Third stage – 11S693
Powered by	1 RD-861
Maximum thrust	78.7 kN (17,700 lbf)
Specific impulse	317 sec
Burn time	125 seconds
Propellant	N2O4 / UDMH
[edit on Wikidata]

The Tsyklon-3, also known as Tsiklon-3 and Cyclone-3 (known as SL-14 by the United States DoD), GRAU index 11K68, was a Soviet, and subsequently Ukrainian orbital carrier rocket. Tsyklon 3 rocket body debris accounts for more than 500 pieces of space debris.^[2]

A derivative of the R-36 ICBM, and a member of the Tsyklon family, Tsyklon-3 made its maiden flight on 24 June 1977, and was retired on 30 January 2009.^[1] The Ukrainian-built Tsyklon rockets were retired in favour of future all-Russian carrier rockets, such as the Angara, and because they were fuelled by toxic hypergolic propellants.^[3]

Ukraine was developing a commercial derivative of the Tsyklon-3, the Tsyklon-4.^[4] The development of Tsyklon-4 ended in 2015 after Ukraine's development partner Brazil pulled out of the project. Tsyklon-4 never made it to launch pad.

Another successor to the Tsyklon rockets, Cyclone-4M (based on Tsyklon-4 designs), is under development as of 2021 for use in the commercial market.^{[citation needed]}

On 23 May 2013 at approximately 05:38 UTC, the Ecuadorian satellite NEE-01 Pegaso passed very close to the spent upper stage of a 1985 Tsyklon-3 rocket over the Indian Ocean. While there was no direct collision between the satellite and upper stage, Pegaso is believed to have suffered a "glancing blow" after passing through a debris cloud around the Tsyklon stage and striking one of the small pieces.^[5][6] After the incident, the satellite was found to be "spinning wildly over two of its axes" and unable to communicate with its ground station.^[5] Efforts to reestablish control of Pegaso failed,^[6] and on 28 August 2013 the decision was made by EXA and the Ecuadorian government to declare the satellite lost.^[7]

The Tsyklon-3 rocket body used to launch the Meteor 2-16 on August 18, 1987 has fragmented five times between 1988 and 2006 due in part to propellant left inside the vehicle, resulting in more than 100 pieces of debris many of which are still in orbit.^[8]

• Angara rocket
• Dnepr rocket
• Tsyklon
• Tsyklon-2
• Tsyklon-4
• Cyclone-4M

• Encyclopedia Astronautica- Tsiklon 3