On May 26, 2006 one of the Project 667BDRM/Delta IV submarines of the Northern Fleet, K-84 "Ekaterinburg", successfully launched a Compass-2 satellite into space. The Shtil launcher that was used in the launch is a converted R-29RM ballistic missile.
This was not a military launch - Compass-2 (Complex Orbital Magneto-Plasma Autonomous Small Satellite) is a scientific satellite, developed at IZMIRAN (Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Wave Propagation of the Russian Academy of Sciences).
The rocket was launched from a submerged submarine at 22:50 MSD (18:50 UTC). The satellite successfully reached its orbit with perigee of about 400 km, apogee of 490 km, and inclination of 78.9 degrees. It was assigned the following catalog number and international designation: 29157/2006-019A.
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I heard that there was some problem with a satellite, but no information since were provided. Has anyone got any new info? Russia surely has a bad luck with science sattelites.
IZMIRAN has a web site with news, but there is not much there. The forum at the Novosti kosmonavtiki site is a good (if sometimes chaotic) place to go for information and opinions.
Thank you, Pavel!
Aviation Week & Space Technology (June 5, 2006) stated the satellite suffered a malfunction in its stabilization system and its payload will have to be "scrapped". (their words)
Why would you use a Delta IV submarine and a converted Sineva missile for such missions? It just seems to add an additional layer of complexity. Wouldn't a launch from one of Russian's existing rocket launch facilities make more sense? Is it a cost issue? Does the submarine launch take advantage of mobility to put a satellite in a certain orbit that is critical to its success?
Frank Shuler
USA
Frank,
of course it is a cost issue. First of all, the submarine launched rockets have far less launch capacity than land based. Secondly, the types of rockets launched from them, do not have launch pads on ground, so it is probably imposible to launch them other way then from the submarine. Third, rockets used are nearing their end of exploatation, so if not converted or fired in a drill, they can only be thrown away. Fourth, but maybe most important, these are all low budget missions, small sattelites put on a "small" rocket, launched with as little man preparation as possible, cost up to, maybe, 10 or so million dollars( Pavel, please, correct me if I am wrong). In other words, they probably wouldn't be launched at all the other way. Remember solar sailing experiment(privately funded), then Demonstrator inflatable devices? As simple as that: you have the cheap rocket, little man hours, less complicated procedure, the choise of place to launch. Don't forget that Russian army also have an interest to verify their rockets nearing end of service life, that aditionaly cut the cost. All the economy,actually.
Ivan, perfect explanation! Thanks for your contribution.
Frank Shuler
USA