HORIZON AERONAUTICS

is proud to present....

The mighty Zenit 3SLB rocket!

Background information: This mod was originally created by the wonderful stubbles, who at that time created one of the best real world rocket packs out there. This pack contains the Zenit-3SLB booster, updated for KSP 1.2.X by MeCripp, who also included support for Animated Decouplers and Procedural Fairings. Unfortunately, after the release of v1.2, meant for KSP 0.23.5, all work on this project was terminated. After a long hiatus, MeCripp and I are excited to bring this mod back to the KSP Communit

The Zenit booster is a medium-heavy launch vehicle, capable of carrying heavy payloads to Geostationary orbit. This Zenit can bring ~10-15T to Geosynchronous orbit. It is compatible with FAR, KWRocketry, MechJeb, and DeadlyReentry.

Information about the Zenit rocket IRL (from my article about the Elektro L-2 launch):

The Zenit's first stage is powered by a RD-171M engine. RD-171M is the world's most powerful rocket engine, even more powerful than the Saturn V rocket's F-1 engines (However RD-171M achieves this thrust through four thrust chambers while the F-1 only has a single thrust chamber. F-1 is the most powerful single chamber rocket engine and RD-171M is the most powerful rocket engine overall). RD-171M is derived from the RD-170 engine used on the strap-on boosters of the Energiya rocket that lifted the Soviet Space Shuttle, Buran. RD-171M burns a mixture of RP-1 Kerosene and Liquid Oxygen. It burns for approximately 2 minutes and 30 seconds. The second stage is powered by a fixed RD-120 engine and a four-chamber RD-8 vernier engine. Both engines burn the same propellant mixture as the first stage. RD-120 has also influenced the design other rocket engines with its efficient staged combustion cycle technology, most notably the Ukranian RD-810, the Indian SCE-200, and the Chinese YF-100. On this flight, the third stage of the rocket will be a Fregat-SB upper stage (Zenit is compatible with the Block-DMSLB and Fregat-SB upper stages). Fregat-SB is derived from the Russian Fregat upper stage. The Fregat-SB has an additional torodial propellant tank mounted below the structural frame. The Fregat-SB upper stage will propel the Electro-L2 satellite into Geostationary orbit.

This will be the 83rd flight of Zenit and the 3rd flight of the vehicle in its Zenit-3F configuration. The first version of the Zenit was the Zenit-2, which was the basic two-stage vehicle. Later, with Sea Launch's arrival into the commercial launch market, the Zenit-3 family was introduced. Zenit-3 was basically a Zenit 2 with a Block-DMSL/DMSLB upper stage. Sea Launch flights flew with the Block-DMSL upper stage, while Zenit-3SLB/3M "Land Launch" rockets flew with the Block-DMSLB upper stage. The Zenit-3F is the only Zenit configuration that uses the Fregat upper stage.

Developed in the former Soviet Union, the Zenit rocket "represented a new age of Soviet rocketry," as according to Spaceflight Now. Many Zenit components were manufactured by Yuzhnoye inside the Ukraine, and Russia depended on the Ukraine to ship Zenit rockets if it wanted to launch satellites on Zenit. The rocked made its maiden flight in 1985, and has flown missions for over 30 years. Reportedly, there are two more unflown Zenit launch vehicles. A completed vehicle is in storage at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. It was assigned to launch Russia's Spektr-RG observatory. However, according to Spaceflight Now, the rocket's warranty has already expired and the observatory might be shifted to a Proton-M Breeze-M rocket. Another Zenit rocket is being assembled in the Ukraine to launch the Ukrainian Lybid-1 communications satellite. However, it is unclear if Lybid-1 will even fly, due to Russian-Ukrainian tensions getting tighter. With this, a legendary product of the Cold War space race will probably make its final trip to the stars tomorrow.