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48-469: As well as the single-stage ballistic technology, the R-12 Dvina had a two-stage capability that allowed payloads to be placed into low Earth orbit . The Iranian Shahab-4 missile is likely an offshoot of the R-12 Dvina. OKB-586 formed from a spin-off of portions of Sergei Korolev 's OKB-1 production infrastructure under the direction of Mikhail Yangel in the early 1950s. Soon after, he started

96-570: A domino effect known as Kessler syndrome . NASA's Orbital Debris Program tracks over 25,000 objects larger than 10 cm diameter in LEO, while the estimated number between 1 and 10 cm is 500,000, and the number of particles bigger than 1 mm exceeds 100 million. The particles travel at speeds up to 7.8 km/s (28,000 km/h; 17,500 mph), so even a small impact can severely damage a spacecraft. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of

144-514: A command structure and instrumentation-service unit it was possible to improve accuracy (CEP) from 550 to 450 meters, to increase maximum range by 10%, and to increase the area covered by the warheads. This latest RSD-10 variant subsequently received NATO reporting name SS-28 Saber 2 . It was intended to replace, or augment, the R-12 Dvina (SS-4 Sandal ) and R-14 Chusovaya (SS-5 Skean ) missiles deployed from 1958 and 1961 respectively in

192-442: A highly alert condition (reaction time equals three to five minutes) was long—many hours for soft sites, and days for hard sites. The R-12 and R-12U missiles reached their maximum operational launcher inventory of 608 in 1964–66. Some soft-site phase-out began in 1968, with some hard-site phase-out beginning in 1972. In 1978 their phase out and replacement with mobile ground-launched RSD-10 Pioneer missiles began. Efforts to create

240-655: A massive Warsaw Pact counteroffensive. The RSD-10 provided the Soviet Union with an in-theater "selective" targeting capability that it previously had lacked. The RSD-10 had the capacity to destroy all NATO bases and installations with negligible warning. Thus, the Soviet Union acquired the capability to neutralise NATO's tactical nuclear forces with surgical nuclear strikes . In 1979 NATO decided to deploy US Pershing II missiles and BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missiles in Western Europe in attempt to counter

288-601: A new engine for the project. Earlier designs like the R-5 and R-7 used liquid oxygen as the oxidizer, and therefore had to be fueled immediately before launch, as the oxygen would "boil off" over time. He developed the RD-214 for the R-12, which consisted of four combustion chambers sharing a common turbopump assembly. The pumps were powered by decomposing hydrogen peroxide , like earlier designs, to generate an exhaust. The new engine

336-524: A railway based version of the R-12 missile were suspended, but work then started on a silo-launched version. An underground launch complex, code-named Mayak-2 (Beacon-2), was constructed in Kapustin Yar. In September 1959 the R-12 took off from the silo complex for the first time. In May 1960 the development of a new R-12 missile designated as R-12U was begun. The R-12U was designed to be used with both surface launchers and silos. The silo-launch complex of

384-543: A satellite into a LEO, and a satellite there needs less powerful amplifiers for successful transmission, LEO is used for many communication applications, such as the Iridium phone system . Some communication satellites use much higher geostationary orbits and move at the same angular velocity as the Earth as to appear stationary above one location on the planet. Unlike geosynchronous satellites , satellites in low orbit have

432-403: A separable single reentry vehicle. In the integrated fuel tanks the oxidizer was put forward of the fuel tank, separated by an intermediate plate. During flight this allowed the oxidizer from the lower unit to be spent first, improving in-flight stabilization. The propulsion system consists of four liquid propellant rocket motors with a common turbo pump unit. The flight control was carried out with

480-441: A small field of view and can only observe and communicate with a fraction of the Earth at a given time. This means that a large network (or constellation ) of satellites is required to provide continuous coverage. Satellites at lower altitudes of orbit are in the atmosphere and suffer from rapid orbital decay , requiring either periodic re-boosting to maintain stable orbits, or the launching of replacements for those that re-enter

528-433: A subset of LEO. These orbits, with low orbital inclination , allow rapid revisit times over low-latitude locations on Earth. Prograde equatorial LEOs also have lower delta-v launch requirements because they take advantage of the Earth's rotation. Other useful LEO orbits including polar orbits and Sun-synchronous orbits have a higher inclinations to the equator and provide coverage for higher latitudes on Earth. Some of

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576-661: A total of 48 launch sites including a site at Pavschino , were equipped with 435 RSD-10 missiles under control of the Strategic Missile Forces . There were several theories as to why the Soviet Union developed the RSD-10: During the 1960s, Soviet missile procurement was dominated by the ideas of Defence Minister, Marshal Andrei Grechko who was opposed to the idea of nuclear weapons as a weapon of last resort, and planned, if World War III commenced, to begin that conflict with an immediate nuclear strike on

624-674: A way of increasing orders. The British historian James Cant wrote that it was the triumph of the Soviet version of the military-industrial complex over the military as regarding weapons procurement that was the most important reason for the Pioneer. While the Warsaw Pact arguably enjoyed a massive conventional superiority over NATO in Central Europe, Soviet leaders assumed that NATO would use tactical nuclear weapons to stop

672-421: Is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, peaking in number at an altitude around 800 km (500 mi), while the farthest in LEO, before medium Earth orbit (MEO), have an altitude of 2,000 kilometers, about one-third of the radius of Earth and near

720-496: Is only slightly less than on the Earth's surface. This is because the distance to LEO from the Earth's surface is much less than the Earth's radius. However, an object in orbit is in a permanent free fall around Earth, because in orbit the gravitational force and the centrifugal force balance each other out. As a result, spacecraft in orbit continue to stay in orbit, and people inside or outside such craft continuously experience weightlessness . Objects in LEO orbit Earth between

768-658: The Belarusian SSR by the Minsk Automobile Plant . The TEL was originally designed for the RT-21 Temp 2S intercontinental ballistic missile. On 10 August 1979 testing of the modernized "Pioneer"-UTTKh (15Zh53) began at the Kapustin Yar test site. It continued through 14 August 1980, and on 17 December 1980 the missile was deployed. Designated by NATO as SS-20 Mod3, this variant had the same propulsion system as earlier versions, but due to upgrading of

816-639: The Cuban Missile Crisis . The first five regiments with surface-based R-12 missiles were put on alert in May 1960, while the first regiment of silo-based missiles was placed on alert in January 1963. Their reaction time was assessed by the West at one to three hours in the normal soft-site readiness condition, and five to fifteen minutes in the normal hard-site readiness condition. The allowable hold time in

864-585: The Hero of Socialist Labor (the highest industrial award) was awarded to Yangel, Smirnov and Budnik. The R-12 missile was introduced into the inventory on 4 March 1959 according to Russian sources, though Western intelligence believed that an initial operational capability was reached in late 1958. The first public display of this system was in November 1960, and they were deployed to Cuba in October 1962 during

912-579: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration . RSD-10 Pioneer The RSD-10 Pioneer ( Russian : ракета средней дальности (РСД) «Пионер» tr. : raketa sredney dalnosti (RSD) "Pioner" ; English: Medium-Range Missile "Pioneer" ) was an intermediate-range ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead , deployed by the Soviet Union from 1976 to 1988. It carried GRAU designation 15Ж45 ( 15Zh45 ). Its NATO reporting name

960-516: The RT-21 Temp 2S (SS-16 Sinner ), so it was also known as the RT-21M Pioneer . The missile's range was from 600 to 5,700 kilometres (370 to 3,540 mi) initially; the final model had a maximum range of possibly 7,500 kilometres (4,700 mi). Initially the missile was fitted with a single 1 megaton , 1.6 ton warhead. Later models could take one or two (and from 1980, three) additional 150 kiloton MIRV devices (Pioneer UTTH). The CEP

1008-429: The oblateness of Earth's spheroid figure and local topography . While definitions based on altitude are inherently ambiguous, most of them fall within the range specified by an orbit period of 128 minutes because, according to Kepler's third law , this corresponds to a semi-major axis of 8,413 km (5,228 mi). For circular orbits, this in turn corresponds to an altitude of 2,042 km (1,269 mi) above

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1056-459: The 11K63, a modernized, improved launch vehicle. In 1967, a second launch complex was opened at Plesetsk and from there on, 11K63 flights alternated between Kapustin Yar and Plesetsk, mostly for orbiting lightweight scientific and military payloads. A total of 123 were flown, of which eight failed to attain orbit. In 1977, the R-12 and 11K63 were retired from use. The R-12 is a single-stage rocket with

1104-629: The 63S1 took place in October and December 1961 and both failed. On March 16, 1962, Kosmos 1 , a navigation test satellite, was successfully orbited, marking the first Soviet space launch to be performed with a booster other than the R-7 . Finally, a dedicated launch complex was constructed at Kapustin Yar and first used in December 1964. An enhanced R-12 booster was flown in 1965–67 from the Dvina silo at Kapustin Yar on suborbital tests, eventually giving way to

1152-498: The LEO region but are not in a LEO orbit because they re-enter the atmosphere . The distinction between LEO orbits and the LEO region is especially important for analysis of possible collisions between objects which may not themselves be in LEO but could collide with satellites or debris in LEO orbits. The mean orbital velocity needed to maintain a stable low Earth orbit is about 7.8 km/s (4.8 mi/s), which translates to 28,000 km/h (17,000 mph). However, this depends on

1200-734: The Lesnaya Missile Elimination Facility. The last of the 149 Soviet R-12 missiles was eliminated at Lesnaya in May 1990. In 1961, an upper stage using LOX and UDMH propellants was added to the R-12 to create the Kosmos 63S1 booster. Since there were no surface pads for the R-12, all launches took place from the Mayak silo at Kapustin Yar . However, as silos were not designed for repeated use, this arrangement proved impractical and necessitated their refurbishment after every few launches. The first two launch attempts of

1248-547: The NATO nations. By the early 1970s, Grechko's views had caused opposition within the military and the political leadership, who wanted the Soviet Union to have a second strike capacity in order to prevent a war with the United States from going nuclear immediately as Grechko preferred. More importantly, the increasing influence of Marshal Dmitriy Ustinov heralded a shift in Soviet thinking about nuclear weapons. Ustinov

1296-665: The R-12U missile comprised four launchers and was designated as "Dvina" ( Russian : 8П763 «Двина» ; English: Dvina )". The testing phase of the missile and the launch complex lasted from December 1961 until December 1963. The R-12 was also used during the development of the V-1000 anti-ballistic missile , serving as a target. During a series of tests two R-12s detonated their warheads in the upper atmosphere in order to test radar systems. A follow-on test planned to launch an R-12 from Kapustin Yar while two R-9s from Tyuratam would fly into

1344-586: The RSD-10. In 1979, when the NATO decision was taken, the Soviet Union had 14 (1 operational) RSD-10 launch sites. 654 missiles were built in total. These and the 499 associated mobile launchers were destroyed by May 1991 in accordance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty . Fifteen RSD-10, eight BGM-109G Gryphon and seven Pershing II missiles were preserved to commemorate this agreement. One RSD-10 can be seen in

1392-601: The USSR and Warsaw Pact states. It entered the development stage in 1966 and a design concept was approved in 1968 with the task given to the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology and Alexander Nadiradze , who also developed the RT-21 Temp 2S in the same period. Flight testing began in 1974 and deployment commenced on 11 March 1976, with the first supplied units becoming operational in August of that year. Up to 1986,

1440-510: The accuracy needed to hit targets at 2,000 km without the mid-course updates. According to the official NPO Yuzhnoye history, Yangel's design was approved on 13 February 1953 by the Council of Ministers of the USSR . However, another source reports that the approval was granted on 13 August 1955. The first test was conducted at Kapustin Yar on 22 June 1957. In September 1958, Nikita Khrushchev personally visited Kapustin Yar to witness

1488-567: The area, but only the R-12 launched successfully. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed in December 1987 and entered into force in June 1988. The fundamental purpose of the INF Treaty was to eliminate and ban US and Soviet ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as associated support equipment, with ranges between 500 and 5500 kilometers. Elimination of R-12 and R-14 Chusovaya missiles and components took place at

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1536-433: The atmosphere. The effects of adding such quantities of vaporized metals to Earth's stratosphere are potentially of concern but currently unknown. The LEO environment is becoming congested with space debris because of the frequency of object launches. This has caused growing concern in recent years, since collisions at orbital velocities can be dangerous or deadly. Collisions can produce additional space debris, creating

1584-433: The beginning of the inner Van Allen radiation belt . The term LEO region is used for the area of space below an altitude of 2,000 km (1,200 mi) (about one-third of Earth's radius). Objects in orbits that pass through this zone, even if they have an apogee further out or are sub-orbital , are carefully tracked since they present a collision risk to the many LEO satellites. No human spaceflights other than

1632-455: The denser part of the atmosphere and below the inner Van Allen radiation belt . They encounter atmospheric drag from gases in the thermosphere (approximately 80–600 km above the surface) or exosphere (approximately 600 km or 400 mi and higher), depending on orbit height. Satellites in orbits that reach altitudes below 300 km (190 mi) decay quickly due to atmospheric drag. Equatorial low Earth orbits ( ELEO ) are

1680-663: The development of an improved strategic missile that would outperform the R-5 , that Korolev was in the process of bringing into production. Yangel's design was based on combining the basic airframe from the R-5 with an engine developed from the R-11 Zemlya . The R-11 was a short-range missile that used nitric acid as an oxidizer and kerosene as a fuel and could be stored for extended periods of time. Valentin Glushko had long advocated using storable propellants, and proposed developing

1728-403: The exact altitude of the orbit. Calculated for a circular orbit of 200 km (120 mi) the orbital velocity is 7.79 km/s (4.84 mi/s), but for a higher 1,500 km (930 mi) orbit the velocity is reduced to 7.12 km/s (4.42 mi/s). The launch vehicle's delta-v needed to achieve low Earth orbit starts around 9.4 km/s (5.8 mi/s). The pull of gravity in LEO

1776-647: The first generation of Starlink satellites used polar orbits which provide coverage everywhere on Earth. Later Starlink constellations orbit at a lower inclination and provide more coverage for populated areas. Higher orbits include medium Earth orbit (MEO), sometimes called intermediate circular orbit (ICO), and further above, geostationary orbit (GEO). Orbits higher than low orbit can lead to early failure of electronic components due to intense radiation and charge accumulation. In 2017, " very low Earth orbits " ( VLEO ) began to be seen in regulatory filings. These orbits, below about 450 km (280 mi), require

1824-484: The help of four carbon jet vanes, located in the nozzles of the rocket motors. The autonomous guidance and control system used center of mass normal and lateral stabilization devices, a velocity control system and a computer-assisted automatic range control system. The R-12 was deployed at both soft launch pads and hard silos. The standard yield was 2.3 megatons. Conventional explosives or chemical weapons could have been used as well. Readiness nr. 4 (constant). The missile

1872-569: The launch of R-12, as well as its competitor, the R-5M. The latter had already been accepted into deployment at the time. The R-12 launch was a success and the next month, mass production of the vehicle started in Dnepropetrovsk. Test launches continued until December and demonstrated a maximum error of 2.3 km. For the work on R-12, on 1 July 1959, OKB-586 received the Order of Lenin , while

1920-526: The lunar missions of the Apollo program (1968-1972) and the 2024 Polaris Dawn have taken place beyond LEO. All space stations to date have operated geocentric within LEO. A wide variety of sources define LEO in terms of altitude . The altitude of an object in an elliptic orbit can vary significantly along the orbit. Even for circular orbits , the altitude above ground can vary by as much as 30 km (19 mi) (especially for polar orbits ) due to

1968-455: The mean radius of Earth, which is consistent with some of the upper altitude limits in some LEO definitions. The LEO region is defined by some sources as a region in space that LEO orbits occupy. Some highly elliptical orbits may pass through the LEO region near their lowest altitude (or perigee ) but are not in a LEO orbit because their highest altitude (or apogee ) exceeds 2,000 km (1,243 mi). Sub-orbital objects can also reach

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2016-412: The use of novel technologies for orbit raising because they operate in orbits that would ordinarily decay too soon to be economically useful. A low Earth orbit requires the lowest amount of energy for satellite placement. It provides high bandwidth and low communication latency . Satellites and space stations in LEO are more accessible for crew and servicing. Since it requires less energy to place

2064-440: Was SS-20 Saber . Its deployment was a major cause of NATO's 'Double-Track Decision' , which led to the deployment of more medium-range nuclear weapons in Western Europe. The RSD-10 was withdrawn from service under the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty . The missile was 16.5 metres (54 ft) high, 1.8 metres (5.9 ft) in diameter and weighed 37.1 tons. It was based on two solid-fuel fiberglass clad stages of

2112-430: Was a man closely connected with the various Soviet design bureaus, and who generally sided with demands of the design bureaus against the military regarding weapons procurement. The decision to order and introduce the Pioneer in the mid-1970s was in large part due to Ustinov's wishes to shift military procurement out of the hands of the military and into the design bureaus, who in turn pressed for more and varied weapons as

2160-436: Was also reduced from 550 metres (1,800 ft) to 150 to 450 metres (490 to 1,480 ft). The missile was the first Soviet missile equipped with solid fuel instead of liquid fuel, which meant that it could be launched once the order had been given instead of requiring hours doing the dangerous work of pumping the missile with liquid fuel. The missile used a MAZ-547A /MAZ-7916 transporter erector launcher (TEL) produced in

2208-484: Was in the hangar. The gyroscopes (control devices) and warhead were not installed, the missile was not fueled. The missile could stay so for seven years (factory-guaranteed service time). It would take 3 hours and 25 minutes to launch. Readiness nr. 3 (elevated). The missile was in the hangar. The gyroscopes and warhead were installed. The missile could stay so for three years. It would take 2 hours and 20 minutes to launch. Readiness nr. 2 (first step elevated). The missile

2256-547: Was too large to fit in the existing R-5 airframe, so a conical tail section was added to hold the engine. Nikolay Pilyugin , head of the leading control system bureau, convinced Yangel to introduce a fully autonomous control system in the R-12 instead of the traditional radio control that had been used on earlier missiles. The R-5, for instance, used an inertial guidance system that had to be "fine tuned" by commands from ground radio stations that it passed over during its flight. Pilyugin felt that newer inertial systems would have

2304-584: Was transported to the launch site, the gyroscopes were started, and initial data inserted. Propellant tankers stood next to the missile. The missile could stay so for three months. It would take 1 hour to launch. Readiness nr. 1 (total). The missile was fueled and targeted, but the starting mixture gas was not loaded. The missile could stay so for one month. It would take 30 minutes to launch. [REDACTED] Media related to R-12 at Wikimedia Commons Nuclear Threat Initiative − Russian Ballistic Missile Models Low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit ( LEO )

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