EUROCKOT - An Established LEO Launch Service Provider
- Paper number
IAC-06-D2.P.1.05
- Author
Mrs. Anna Zorina, Eurockot Launch Services GmbH, Germany
- Coauthor
Mr. Mark Kinnersley, Eurockot Launch Services GmbH, Germany
- Coauthor
Mr. Jacques Leclerc, Eurockot Launch Services GmbH, Germany
- Coauthor
Mr. Peter Freeborn, Eurockot Launch Services GmbH, Germany
- Year
2006
- Abstract
EUROCKOT is a German-Russian joint venture company established to provide LEO launch services using the Russian Rockot launch vehicle. The company’s debut launch was in 2000 and this was followed in the next years by launches of over one dozen spacecraft for commercial customers and agencies from around the world.
The launch vehicle which in the mean time had firmly established itself in the LEO launch services arena as a reliable and proven work horse unfortunately suffered its first launch failure after nine successful launches. The launch of the European Space Agency’s CryoSat satellite was lost on October 8th 2005.
The paper describes the return to flight of the Rockot vehicle with the launch of the Korean KOMPSAT-2 Earth Observation satellite from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute in the summer of 2006. In particular the mission specific items undertaken for this mission will be described in detail. This includes provision of ground and in-flight telemetry transmission of satellite parameters, cleanliness class 10,000 operations, hydrazine fuelling of the spacecraft as well as the particular mission profile to achieve the Sun-Synchronous Orbit required.
Eurockot Launch Services GmbH, headquartered in Bremen, Germany is a joint-venture, 51% of which is held by Astrium and 49% by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, one of the leading space technology companies in Russia. The ROCKOT launch vehicle is a 3 stage liquid fuelled rocket based on the former Russian SS-19 strategic missile. Rockot can place payloads of up to 1950 kilograms in low earth orbits (LEO) and has the capability to serve sun-synchronous, near polar and highly inclined orbits from its launch site. Launches are performed from state-of-the-art facilities at Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Northern Russia.
Eurockot is under contract by the European Space Agency for the launch of three spacecraft, GOCE, SMOS and PROBA2. It also holds launch contracts with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute for the above mentioned launch of KOMPSAT2 as well as a contract with EADS Astrium for the launch of the Thai THEOS Earth Observation Satellite.
- Abstract document