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30/03/2012
March 30 at 9:00. 49 minutes. GMT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome calculations of enterprises and organizations of missile and space industry, the launch of a space rocket "Proton-K" with the spacecraft "Cosmos" series for the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation.
In accordance with cyclogram flight spacecraft launched into the desired orbit.
Proton-K launch
It was the 310th launch of the carrier for the 45-year history of operation. To launch the spacecraft into an orbit used by D-stage.
Launch vehicle "Proton-K" refers to the heavy class. It was developed in the branch N 1 CDB Engineering (now the Bureau "Sayut" - Khrunichev them. Khrunichev) under the leadership of Chelomei on the basis of a two-stage vehicle UR-500.
The first launch (in the two-stage version) was held July 16, 1965 with the withdrawal of the low earth orbit scientific satellite "Proton", whose name was assigned to the booster. After the first four launches of "Proton" (in the two-stage version), it was decided to establish on the basis of its rocket launch mass with an increase to 700 tons.
Proton-K launch
Since 1967, began launches missile in the three-and four-ways. The first three-stage missile with a UR-500K booster block D started on March 10, 1967 with the satellite "Cosmos-146". This date is considered the birthday of "Proton-K". A three-step "Proton-K" was used for payload into low orbit, a four - to launch spacecraft into orbits of high energy (including the GTO, GEO and escape trajectories).
In 1978, the carrier rocket "Proton-K" with the technical and launch complexes was accepted into serial production. In the creation of space rocket "Proton" involving hundreds of enterprises and factories.
Since 1967, "Proton-K" orbited around 50 types of spacecraft. Among them, the spacecraft "Cosmos" series, "Screen", "Rainbow," "Horizon," apparatus for the study of the Moon, Mars, Venus and Halley's Comet.
Proton-K delivered to orbit the world's first long-term orbital station "Salyut-1" and all subsequent stations in this series, the DOS "Diamond", all the modules for the first space station "Mir", made in Russia modules "Dawn" and " Star" for the International Space Station, as well as heavy spacecraft communications.
Spacecraft running "Proton-K", carried out a range of programs of national economic, scientific and defense purposes. Launched a single satellite system based on satellites "Rainbow", "Display", "Horizon," "Express."
It is the "Proton-K" was used extensively to derive the orbit of spacecraft global navigation satellite system GLONASS.
Due to the unique performance characteristics, high coefficient of reliability and profitability, "Proton-K" was the first Russian carrier rocket, which has attracted the attention of foreign customers.
The first commercial launch of "Proton-K" took place on April 9, 1996 with the European geostationary communication satellite Astra 1F. There were carried out 32 commercial launches, "Proton-K". The last commercial launch using the "Proton-K" was held June 6, 2003 with the satellite AMC-9.
Original text in Russian: http://www.federalspace.ru/main.php?id=2&nid=18875
Images, Text, Credits: Press and Information Office and the Khrunichev Space Agency them. Khrunichev / Roscosmos / Translation: Orbiter.ch.
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