The Tsyklon-4, also known as Tsiklon-4 and Cyclone-4, was a Ukrainian

carrier rocket A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistag ...

which was being developed for commercial satellite launches. Derived from the

Tsyklon-3 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. Overview Tsyklon-3 launching a Meteor-3 satellite at left A ...

, it had a new third stage, a larger

payload fairing A payload fairing or nose fairing is a nose cone used to protect a launch vehicle, spacecraft payload (air and space craft), payload against the impact of dynamic pressure and aerodynamic heating during launch through an atmosphere. An additiona ...

, and a modernised flight control system compared to its predecessor. The control system had been developed by JSC Khartron.

Specifications

Tsyklon-4 was a

three-stage-to-orbit A multistage rocket or step rocket is a launch vehicle that uses two or more rocket ''stages'', each of which contains its own Rocket engine, engines and Rocket propellant, propellant. A ''tandem'' or ''serial'' stage is mounted on top of anoth ...

expendable launch system An expendable launch system (or expendable launch vehicle/ELV) is a launch vehicle that can be launched only once, after which its components are destroyed during reentry or impact with Earth, or discarded in space. ELVs typically consist of s ...

, built on the successful Tsyklon-3 rocket and using improved versions of that rocket's first two stages. The new features were mostly in the newly developed third stage: * The third stage has three times the propellant capacity of Tsyklon-3 * The new rocket engine

RD-861 The RD-861 () is a Soviet liquid propellant rocket engine burning a hypergolic mixture of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) fuel with dinitrogen tetroxide () oxidizer in a gas generator combustion cycle. It has a main combustion chamber, wi ...

K with multiple ignition capability (3 to 5 times) * A modern western-like control system capable of precise orbit injections * A new fairing derived from

Ariane 4 The Ariane 4 was a European expendable rocket, expendable launch vehicle in the Ariane (rocket family), Ariane family, developed by the (CNES), the Government of France, French space agency, for the European Space Agency (ESA). The manufacturi ...

is under development. It has a diameter of , with controlled temperature and cleanness conditions inside Tsyklon-4 would have improved the fuelling system, allowing safe capture of toxic vapours from the vehicle's hypergolic propellant system. The launch system would have been able to deliver up to to a orbit, to a orbit, or to a

geosynchronous orbit A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbital ...

Development history

Development began in 2002, with the maiden flight aimed for 2006. Following a series of production delays, this launch date slipped, and was estimated to occur some time after 2015. Tsyklon-4 had been planned to launch from a proposed launch pad at the Alcântara Launch Center in Brazil, which would have given the rocket access to all orbital regimes. However, Brazil backed out of the partnership with Ukraine in 2015, citing concerns over the project budget, the ongoing financial situation in both countries, and the future of the commercial launch market. Yuzhnoye began developing a two-stage derivative of Tsyklon-4, the Cyclone-4M, for

Maritime Launch Services Maritime Launch Services (MLS) is a Canadian space transport services company founded in 2016 and headquartered in Nova Scotia, Canada. MLS will rely on Ukrainian Cyclone-4M rockets by KB Pivdenne, Pivdenne Design Office to launch polar and Sun-s ...

, a Canadian launch service provider. The new rocket was originally scheduled to be in service by 2020, though this date has been repeatedly pushed due to construction delays at the Canso launch site. Construction is currently estimated to be complete by 2024 or 2025. According to a 2021 press release, the first flight of Cyclone-4M was planned to take place at Canso in 2023; however, it failed to eventuate.

References

External links

Tsyklon-4
at Yuzhnoye.com
RD-861K
at Yuzhnoye.com

at

Encyclopedia Astronautica The ''Encyclopedia Astronautica'' is a reference web site on Space exploration, space travel. The encyclopedia includes 79,433 articles with 13,741 illustrations, a comprehensive catalog of missiles, spacecraft, space technology, astronauts, an ...

{{Expendable launch systems Space launch vehicles of Ukraine Yuzhmash space launch vehicles Cancelled space launch vehicles

Specifications

Development history

See also

References

External links