Kosmos (rocket family)
Soviet rocket family derived from R-12 and R-14 missiles.
The Kosmos (also spelled Cosmos) rockets were a series of Soviet and subsequently Russian launch vehicles derived from the R-12 and R-14 missiles. The best known variant, the Kosmos-3M, has made over 440 launches. Over 700 Kosmos rockets have been launched overall, with the first variant flying on 27 October 1961.
Quick Facts
- Function
- Carrier rocket
- Manufacturer
- Krasnoyarsk Machine-Building Plant
- Country-origin
- Soviet Union
- Height
- 26.3 m / 86 ft 3 in
- Diameter
- 2.4 m / 7 ft 10 in
- Mass
- 107,500 kg / 236,997 lb
- Stages
- 2
- Sites
- Site 41/15, Baikonur
Facts from the source article.
Variants
The Kosmos (GRAU Index: 63S1) was active between 1961 and 1967, developed from the R-12 missile, and launched 38 times with twelve failures. The Kosmos-2M (63S1M) was a prototype preceding the Kosmos-2I, launching Kosmos 106 and Kosmos 97 from Area 86 at Kapustin Yar. The Kosmos-2I (11K63), also derived from the R-12, orbited satellites from 1961 to 1977 and was superseded by the R-14 derived Kosmos-3 and Kosmos-3M. The Kosmos-1 (65S3), derived from the R-14, flew eight times between 1964 and 1965 from Site 41/15 at Baikonur; its maiden flight on 18 August 1964 carried three Strela satellites, and all flights except the second were successful. The Kosmos-3 (11K65), also R-14 derived, flew six times between 1966 and 1968 from Site 41/15 at Baikonur, with four orbital and two sub-orbital flights; its maiden flight on 16 November 1966 carried a Strela-2 satellite, and two of the four Strela-2 flights failed, while both sub-orbital VKZ launches succeeded.
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