On January 20, 1960, the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile, the R-7, was put into service in the USSR. On the basis of this rocket, a whole family of medium-class launch vehicles was created, which made a great contribution to space exploration. It was the R-7 that launched the Vostok spacecraft into orbit with the first cosmonaut - Yuri Gagarin. We decided to talk about five legendary Soviet ballistic missiles.
The two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile R-7, which was affectionately called the “seven”, had a detachable head part weighing 3 tons. The rocket was developed in 1956–1957 at OKB-1 near Moscow under the leadership of Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. It became the first intercontinental ballistic missile in the world. The R-7 was put into service on January 20, 1960. It had a flight range of 8 thousand km. Later, a modification of the R-7A was adopted with a range increased to 11 thousand km. The R-7 used liquid two-component fuel: liquid oxygen as an oxidizer, and T-1 kerosene as a fuel. Testing of the rocket began in 1957. The first three launches were unsuccessful. The fourth attempt was successful. The R-7 carried a thermonuclear warhead. The throwing weight was 5400–3700 kg.
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R-16
In 1962, the USSR adopted the R-16 missile. Its modification became the first Soviet rocket capable of launching from a silo launcher. For comparison, the American SM-65 Atlas was also stored in the mine, but could not launch from the mine: before launching, they rose to the surface. The R-16 is also the first Soviet two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile using high-boiling propellant components with an autonomous control system. The missile entered service in 1962. The need to develop this missile was determined by the low tactical, technical and operational characteristics of the first Soviet ICBM R-7. Initially, the R-16 was supposed to be launched only from ground launchers. The R-16 was equipped with a detachable monoblock warhead of two types, differing in the power of the thermonuclear charge (about 3 Mt and 6 Mt). The mass and, accordingly, the power of the warhead depended maximum range flight distance, ranging from 11 thousand to 13 thousand km. The first rocket launch ended in an accident. On October 24, 1960, at the Baikonur test site, during the planned first test launch of the R-16 rocket at the stage of pre-launch work, approximately 15 minutes before launch, an unauthorized start of the second stage engines occurred due to the passage of a premature command to start the engines from the current distributor, which was caused by a gross violation of the missile preparation procedure. The rocket exploded on the launch pad. 74 people were killed, including the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Marshal M. Nedelin. Later, the R-16 became the base missile for creating a group intercontinental missiles Strategic Missile Forces.
RT-2 became the first Soviet serial solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile. It was put into service in 1968. This missile had a range of 9400–9800 km. Throwing weight - 600 kg. RT-2 was distinguished by its short preparation time for launch - 3–5 minutes. For the P-16 it took 30 minutes. The first flight tests were carried out from the Kapustin Yar test site. There were 7 successful launches. During the second stage of testing, which took place from October 3, 1966 to November 4, 1968 at the Plesetsk test site, 16 out of 25 launches were successful. The rocket was in operation until 1994.
RT-2 rocket in the Motovilikha museum, Perm
R-36
The R-36 was a heavy-duty missile capable of carrying a thermonuclear charge and penetrating a powerful missile defense system. The R-36 had three warheads of 2.3 Mt each. The missile entered service in 1967. In 1979 it was withdrawn from service. The rocket was launched from a silo launcher. During the testing process, 85 launches were carried out, of which 14 failures occurred, 7 of which occurred in the first 10 launches. In total, 146 launches of all modifications of the rocket were carried out. R-36M - further development of the complex. This rocket is also known as "Satan". It was the world's most powerful combat missile system. It was significantly superior to its predecessor, the R-36: in shooting accuracy - 3 times, in combat readiness - 4 times, in launcher security - 15–30 times. The missile range was up to 16 thousand km. Throwing weight - 7300 kg.
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"Temp-2S"
"Temp-2S" is the first mobile missile system of the USSR. The mobile launcher was based on a six-axle MAZ-547A wheeled chassis. The complex was intended to strike at well-protected air defense/missile defense systems and important military and industrial infrastructure located deep in enemy territory. Flight tests of the Temp-2S complex began with the first launch of a rocket on March 14, 1972 at the Plesetsk test site. The flight development stage in 1972 did not go very smoothly: 3 out of 5 launches were unsuccessful. A total of 30 launches were carried out during flight testing, 7 of which were emergency launches. At the final stage of joint flight testing at the end of 1974, a salvo launch of two missiles was carried out, and the last test launch was carried out on December 29, 1974. The Temp-2S mobile ground-based missile system was put into service in December 1975. The missile range was 10.5 thousand km. The missile could carry a 0.65–1.5 Mt thermonuclear warhead. A further development of the Temp-2S missile system was the Topol complex.
, France and China.
An important stage in development rocket technology was the creation of systems with multiple warheads. The first implementation options did not have individual guidance of warheads; the benefit of using several small charges instead of one powerful one is greater efficiency when affecting area targets, so in 1970 the Soviet Union deployed R-36 missiles with three warheads of 2.3 Mt each . In the same year, the United States put the first Minuteman III systems on combat duty, which had a completely new quality - the ability to deploy warheads along individual trajectories to hit multiple targets.
The first mobile ICBMs were adopted in the USSR: the Temp-2S on a wheeled chassis (1976) and the RT-23 UTTH railway-based (1989). In the United States, work was also carried out on similar systems, but none of them were put into service.
A special direction in the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles was work on “heavy” missiles. In the USSR, such missiles were the R-36, and its further development, the R-36M, which were put into service in 1967 and 1975, and in the USA in 1963 the Titan-2 ICBM entered service. In 1976, Yuzhnoye Design Bureau began developing the new RT-23 ICBM, while work on the missile had been underway in the United States since 1972; they were put into service in (in the RT-23UTTKh version) and 1986, respectively. R-36M2, which entered service in 1988, is the most powerful and heaviest in history missile weapons: A 211-ton rocket, when fired at 16,000 km, carries on board 10 warheads with a capacity of 750 kt each.
Design
Operating principle
Ballistic missiles typically launch vertically. Having received some translational speed in the vertical direction, the rocket, with the help of a special software mechanism, equipment and controls, gradually begins to move from a vertical position to an inclined position towards the target.
By the end of engine operation, the longitudinal axis of the rocket acquires an angle of inclination (pitch) corresponding to the greatest range of its flight, and the speed becomes equal to a strictly established value that ensures this range.
After the engine stops working, the rocket performs its entire further flight by inertia, describing in general case almost strictly elliptical trajectory. At the top of the trajectory, the rocket's flight speed takes on its lowest value. The apogee of the trajectory of ballistic missiles is usually located at an altitude of several hundred kilometers from the surface of the earth, where, due to the low density of the atmosphere, air resistance is almost completely absent.
In the descending section of the trajectory, the rocket's flight speed gradually increases due to the loss of altitude. With a further decrease in the dense layers of the atmosphere, the rocket passes through enormous speeds. In this case, a strong heating of the casing occurs ballistic missile, and if the necessary safety measures are not taken, its destruction may occur.
Classification
Based method
Based on their launching method, intercontinental ballistic missiles are divided into:
- launched from ground-based stationary launchers: R-7, Atlas;
- launched from silo launchers (silos): RS-18, PC-20, “Minuteman”;
- launched from mobile installations based on a wheeled chassis: “Topol-M”, “Midgetman”;
- launched from railway launchers: RT-23UTTKh;
- submarine-launched ballistic missiles: Bulava, Trident.
The first basing method fell out of use in the early 1960s, as it did not meet the requirements of security and secrecy. Modern silos provide high degree protection from damaging factors nuclear explosion and allow one to reliably hide the level of combat readiness of the launch complex. The remaining three options are mobile, and therefore more difficult to detect, but they impose significant restrictions on the size and weight of missiles.
ICBM design bureau named after. V. P. Makeeva
Other methods of basing ICBMs have been repeatedly proposed, designed to ensure secrecy of deployment and security of launch complexes, for example:
- on specialized aircraft and even airships with the launch of ICBMs in flight;
- in ultra-deep (hundreds of meters) mines in rocks, from which transport and launch containers (TPC) with missiles must rise to the surface before launch;
- at the bottom of the continental shelf in pop-up capsules;
- in a network of underground galleries through which mobile launchers continuously move.
Until now, none of these projects have been brought to practical implementation.
Engines
Early versions of ICBMs used liquid-propellant rocket engines and required lengthy refueling with propellant components immediately before launch. Preparations for launch could last several hours, and the time to maintain combat readiness was very short. In the case of using cryogenic components (R-7), the equipment of the launch complex was very cumbersome. All this significantly limited the strategic value of such missiles. Modern ICBMs use solid fuel rocket engines or liquid rocket engines on high-boiling components with ampulized filling. Such missiles arrive from the factory in transport and launch containers. This allows them to be stored in a ready-to-start condition throughout their entire service life. Liquid rockets are delivered to the launch complex in an unfuelled state. Refueling is carried out after the TPK with the missile is installed in the launcher, after which the missile can be in combat-ready condition for many months and years. Preparation for launch usually takes no more than a few minutes and is carried out remotely, from a remote command post, via cable or radio channels. Periodic checks of missile and launcher systems are also carried out.
Modern ICBMs usually have a variety of means to penetrate enemy missile defenses. These may include maneuvering combat units, means of radar jamming, decoys, etc.
Indicators
Launch of the Dnepr rocket
Peaceful use
For example, with the help of American Atlas and Titan ICBMs, the Mercury and Gemini spacecraft were launched. And the Soviet PC-20, PC-18 ICBMs and the naval R-29RM served as the basis for the creation of the Dnepr, Strela, Rokot and Shtil launch vehicles.
see also
Notes
Links
- Andreev D. Missiles do not go into reserve // “Red Star”. June 25, 2008
Ballistic missiles have been and remain a reliable shield national security Russia. A shield, ready, if necessary, to turn into a sword.
R-36M "Satan"
Developer: Yuzhnoye Design Bureau
Length: 33.65 m
Diameter: 3 m
Starting weight: 208,300 kg
Flight range: 16000 km
Soviet strategic missile system of the third generation, with a heavy two-stage liquid-propelled, ampulized intercontinental ballistic missile 15A14 for placement in a silo launcher 15P714 of increased security type OS.
The Americans called the Soviet strategic missile system “Satan”. At the time of its first test in 1973, this rocket became the most powerful ballistic system that has ever been developed. Not a single missile defense system was capable of resisting the SS-18, whose destruction radius was as much as 16 thousand meters. After the creation of the R-36M, Soviet Union could not worry about the “arms race”. However, in the 1980s, the "Satan" was modified, and in 1988 it was put into service Soviet army arrived a new version SS-18 - R-36M2 “Voevoda”, against which modern American missile defense systems cannot do anything.
RT-2PM2. "Topol M"
Length: 22.7 m
Diameter: 1.86 m
Starting weight: 47.1 t
Flight range: 11000 km
The RT-2PM2 rocket is designed as a three-stage rocket with a powerful mixed solid fuel power plant and a fiberglass body. Testing of the rocket began in 1994. The first launch was carried out from a silo launcher at the Plesetsk cosmodrome on December 20, 1994. In 1997, after four successful launches, mass production of these missiles began. The act on the adoption of the Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile into service by the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation was approved by the State Commission on April 28, 2000. As of the end of 2012, there were 60 silo-based and 18 mobile-based Topol-M missiles on combat duty. All silo-based missiles are on combat duty in the Taman Missile Division (Svetly, Saratov Region).
PC-24 "Yars"
Developer: MIT
Length: 23 m
Diameter: 2 m
Flight range: 11000 km
The first rocket launch took place in 2007. Unlike Topol-M, it has multiple warheads. In addition to combat units, Yars also carries a set of breakthrough weapons missile defense, which makes it difficult for the enemy to detect and intercept it. This innovation makes the RS-24 the most successful combat missile in the context of global deployment American system PRO.
SRK UR-100N UTTH with 15A35 missile
Developer: Central Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering
Length: 24.3 m
Diameter: 2.5 m
Starting weight: 105.6 t
Flight range: 10000 km
The third generation intercontinental ballistic liquid missile 15A30 (UR-100N) with a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) was developed at the Central Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering under the leadership of V.N. Chelomey. Flight design tests of the 15A30 ICBM were carried out at the Baikonur training ground (chairman of the state commission - Lieutenant General E.B. Volkov). The first launch of the 15A30 ICBM took place on April 9, 1973. According to official data, as of July 2009, the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation had 70 deployed 15A35 ICBMs: 1. 60th Missile Division (Tatishchevo), 41 UR-100N UTTH 2. 28th Guards Missile Division (Kozelsk), 29 UR-100N UTTH.
15Zh60 "Well done"
Developer: Yuzhnoye Design Bureau
Length: 22.6 m
Diameter: 2.4 m
Starting weight: 104.5 t
Flight range: 10000 km
RT-23 UTTH "Molodets" - strategic missile systems with solid fuel three-stage intercontinental ballistic missiles 15Zh61 and 15Zh60, mobile railway and stationary silo-based, respectively. It was a further development of the RT-23 complex. They were put into service in 1987. Aerodynamic rudders are located on the outer surface of the fairing, allowing the rocket to be controlled in roll during the operation of the first and second stages. After passing through the dense layers of the atmosphere, the fairing is discarded.
R-30 "Bulava"
Developer: MIT
Length: 11.5 m
Diameter: 2 m
Starting weight: 36.8 tons.
Flight range: 9300 km
Russian solid-fuel ballistic missile of the D-30 complex for deployment on submarines project 955. The first launch of the Bulava took place in 2005. Domestic authors often criticize the Bulava missile system under development for a fairly large share of unsuccessful tests. According to critics, the Bulava appeared due to Russia’s banal desire to save money: the country’s desire to reduce development costs by unifying the Bulava with land missiles made its production cheaper , than usual.
X-101/X-102
Developer: MKB "Raduga"
Length: 7.45 m
Diameter: 742 mm
Wingspan: 3 m
Starting weight: 2200-2400
Flight range: 5000-5500 km
New generation strategic cruise missile. Its body is a low-wing aircraft, but has a flattened cross-section and side surfaces. Warhead missiles weighing 400 kg can hit 2 targets at once at a distance of 100 km from each other. The first target will be hit by ammunition descending by parachute, and the second directly when hit by a missile. At a flight range of 5,000 km, the circular probable deviation (CPD) is only 5-6 meters, and at a range of 10,000 km it does not exceed 10 m.
60 years ago, on August 21, 1957, the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the R-7, was successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. This brainchild of Sergei Korolev's OKB-1 formed the basis for a whole family of Soviet launch vehicles, nicknamed the “seven”. The appearance of the R-7 allowed the USSR to develop a weapon to deter the United States and launch the first artificial satellite Earth. RT talks about the history of the creation and significance of the world's first ICBM.
The need to create an intercontinental ballistic missile was caused by the USSR lagging behind in the nuclear race. After victory in World War II, the main threat to the security of the Soviet Union became the American nuclear missile program.
In the first half of the 1940s, the United States acquired not only atomic bomb, but also strategic bombers capable of delivering it. The United States was armed with the B-29 Superfortress (which dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki), and in 1952 the B-52 Stratofortress appeared, which could fly to any point in the USSR.
In the mid-1950s, the Soviet Union created an effective nuclear warhead carrier at that time. In parallel with the work on designing the first strategic bomber(Tu-16) the designers' efforts were focused on developing an intercontinental ballistic missile. OKB-1 under the leadership of Sergei Korolev and other institutes of the USSR managed to achieve significant success along this path. Very quickly, Soviet design thought moved away from copying the German V-2 ballistic missile and began to create unique designs.
Tested 60 years ago, the R-7 became a kind of result of more than 10 years of hard work of scientists and a source of pride Soviet citizens. “Seven” became the technological foundation for the emergence of the Vostok, Voskhod, Molniya and Soyuz launch vehicles.
An incredible task
Construction of the R-7 rocket began at OKB-1 in 1953, although the decree of the CPSU Central Committee and the USSR Council of Ministers on the start of work was published on May 20, 1954.
Korolev was tasked with creating an ICBM capable of carrying a thermonuclear charge over a distance of up to 10 thousand km.
On April 12, 1961, Korolev and his team successfully launched spaceship Vostok 1 with cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on board.
On April 12, 1961, Korolev and his team successfully launched the Vostok-1 spacecraft with cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on board.
To test the R-7, it was necessary to create a new infrastructure. In 1955, in the Kazakh steppes, under the leadership of General Georgy Shubnikov, the construction of the Scientific Research Institute began test site No. 5, which will later turn into the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
In mid-1956 Pilot plant No. 88 in Podlipki (now Korolev) near Moscow, three prototypes of the R-7 were manufactured, and in December 1956, the first flight product 8K71.
On May 15, 1957, the first test of the R-7 took place. After 98 seconds of flight, the rocket began to rapidly lose altitude and, having covered about 300 km, fell. After a series of unsuccessful tests, the designers managed to correct the shortcomings.
Rocket R-7, 1957 / Official website of RSC Energia named after. S. P. Koroleva
On August 21 at 15:25, the R-7 sample took off into the sky, the rocket flew 6,314 km. This meant that the Soviet Union had created the world's first ICBM.
According to the generally accepted classification, a ballistic missile is considered intercontinental if its range exceeds 5.5 thousand km.
The R-7 sample flew to the Kura test site in Kamchatka, but at an altitude of 10 km its head part collapsed from thermodynamic loads. By the end of 1958, over 95 changes had been made to the P-7 design, which eliminated all technical problems.
In service
Serial production of the R-7 started in 1958 at the Stalin Aviation Plant No. 1. The process of adopting the missile into service was delayed due to the construction of a launch station near Plesetsk ( Arhangelsk region), on the site of which the cosmodrome is now located.
The length of the R-7 was 31.4 m. The mass of the rocket exceeded 280 tons, with 250 tons of fuel and 5.4 tons of the warhead. The declared range of ICBMs is 8 thousand km.
Signals from a flying rocket were received ground station. The main radio control point for the "seven" consisted of two large pavilions and 17 trucks. Data on lateral movement and the speed of removal of ICBMs were automatically processed by a computer, which sent commands to the missile.
The missile was delivered to the test site by railway tracks in the form of disassembled blocks. The preparation time for the launch of such a massive structure could exceed 24 hours. Improved versions of the R-7 made it possible to reduce preparation time for launch, improve accuracy and increase the range to 12 thousand km.
The main advantage of the R-7 was its versatility. The world's first ICBM formed the basis for the design of many launch vehicles. Almost everything domestic missiles, which are used for launch into space, belong to the R-7 family - the royal “seven”.
It is difficult to overestimate the historical significance of the first intercontinental ballistic missile. The R-7 produced a real scientific and technological revolution, the fruits of which are enjoyed by modern Russia.
On October 4, 1957, a lightweight version of the ICBM launched the first artificial Earth satellite into orbit.
On November 3, 1957, the R-7 launched the first Living being- the dog Laika. And on April 12, 1961, the Vostok launch vehicle launched the Vostok-1 spacecraft into space, with Yuri Gagarin on board.
Ballistic missiles have been and remain a reliable shield of Russia's national security. A shield, ready, if necessary, to turn into a sword.
R-36M "Satan"
Developer: Yuzhnoye Design Bureau
Length: 33.65 m
Diameter: 3 m
Starting weight: 208,300 kg
Flight range: 16000 km
Soviet strategic missile system of the third generation, with a heavy two-stage liquid-propelled, ampulized intercontinental ballistic missile 15A14 for placement in a silo launcher 15P714 of increased security type OS.
The Americans called the Soviet strategic missile system “Satan”. When first tested in 1973, the missile was the most powerful ballistic system ever developed. Not a single missile defense system was capable of resisting the SS-18, whose destruction radius was as much as 16 thousand meters. After the creation of the R-36M, the Soviet Union did not have to worry about the “arms race.” However, in the 1980s, the Satan was modified, and in 1988, a new version of the SS-18, the R-36M2 Voevoda, entered service with the Soviet Army, against which even modern American missile defense systems cannot do anything.
RT-2PM2. "Topol M"
Length: 22.7 m
Diameter: 1.86 m
Starting weight: 47.1 t
Flight range: 11000 km
The RT-2PM2 rocket is designed as a three-stage rocket with a powerful mixed solid fuel power plant and a fiberglass body. Testing of the rocket began in 1994. The first launch was carried out from a silo launcher at the Plesetsk cosmodrome on December 20, 1994. In 1997, after four successful launches, mass production of these missiles began. The act on the adoption of the Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile into service by the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation was approved by the State Commission on April 28, 2000. As of the end of 2012, there were 60 silo-based and 18 mobile-based Topol-M missiles on combat duty. All silo-based missiles are on combat duty in the Taman Missile Division (Svetly, Saratov Region).
PC-24 "Yars"
Developer: MIT
Length: 23 m
Diameter: 2 m
Flight range: 11000 km
The first rocket launch took place in 2007. Unlike Topol-M, it has multiple warheads. In addition to warheads, Yars also carries a set of missile defense penetration capabilities, which makes it difficult for the enemy to detect and intercept it. This innovation makes the RS-24 the most successful combat missile in the context of the deployment of the global American missile defense system.
SRK UR-100N UTTH with 15A35 missile
Developer: Central Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering
Length: 24.3 m
Diameter: 2.5 m
Starting weight: 105.6 t
Flight range: 10000 km
The third generation intercontinental ballistic liquid missile 15A30 (UR-100N) with a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) was developed at the Central Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering under the leadership of V.N. Chelomey. Flight design tests of the 15A30 ICBM were carried out at the Baikonur training ground (chairman of the state commission - Lieutenant General E.B. Volkov). The first launch of the 15A30 ICBM took place on April 9, 1973. According to official data, as of July 2009, the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation had 70 deployed 15A35 ICBMs: 1. 60th Missile Division (Tatishchevo), 41 UR-100N UTTH 2. 28th Guards Missile Division (Kozelsk), 29 UR-100N UTTH.
15Zh60 "Well done"
Developer: Yuzhnoye Design Bureau
Length: 22.6 m
Diameter: 2.4 m
Starting weight: 104.5 t
Flight range: 10000 km
RT-23 UTTH "Molodets" - strategic missile systems with solid fuel three-stage intercontinental ballistic missiles 15Zh61 and 15Zh60, mobile railway and stationary silo-based, respectively. It was a further development of the RT-23 complex. They were put into service in 1987. Aerodynamic rudders are located on the outer surface of the fairing, allowing the rocket to be controlled in roll during the operation of the first and second stages. After passing through the dense layers of the atmosphere, the fairing is discarded.
R-30 "Bulava"
Developer: MIT
Length: 11.5 m
Diameter: 2 m
Starting weight: 36.8 tons.
Flight range: 9300 km
Russian solid-fuel ballistic missile of the D-30 complex for deployment on Project 955 submarines. The first launch of the Bulava took place in 2005. Domestic authors often criticize the Bulava missile system under development for a fairly large share of unsuccessful tests. According to critics, the Bulava appeared due to Russia’s banal desire to save money: the country’s desire to reduce development costs by unifying the Bulava with land missiles made its production cheaper , than usual.
X-101/X-102
Developer: MKB "Raduga"
Length: 7.45 m
Diameter: 742 mm
Wingspan: 3 m
Starting weight: 2200-2400
Flight range: 5000-5500 km
New generation strategic cruise missile. Its body is a low-wing aircraft, but has a flattened cross-section and side surfaces. The missile's warhead, weighing 400 kg, can hit two targets at once at a distance of 100 km from each other. The first target will be hit by ammunition descending by parachute, and the second directly when hit by a missile. At a flight range of 5,000 km, the circular probable deviation (CPD) is only 5-6 meters, and at a range of 10,000 km it does not exceed 10 m.
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