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The Zenit rocket (Ukrainian: Зеніт, Russian: Зени́т; meaning Zenith) is a space launch vehicle manufactured by the Yuzhnoe Design Bureau of Ukraine. Zenit was built in the 1980s for two purposes: as a liquid rocket booster for the Energia rocket and, equipped with a second stage, as a stand-alone rocket. Moreover Zenit was planned to take over manned spaceship launches from Soyuz, but these plans were abandoned after the fall of the Soviet Union. Zenits are launched from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and by the Sea Launch consortium's floating launch platform in the Pacific Ocean. The engines of the Zenit's first and second stages as well as the upper stage of the Zenit-3SL rocket are supplied by Russia. Since the Zenit is not built in Russia, it is planned to be replaced in that service by the new and yet unflown Angara rocket, although Russia does still use the Zenit. There are plans to use an improved Zenit-3SLB rocket for commercial launches from Baikonur Cosmodrome beginning with 2007; this service is marketed as "Land Launch." In the study entitled The Military Use of Space: A Diagnostic Assessment (csbaonline.org for copies), data compiled by Greg Lucas and Charles Murphy in Appendix 4 of the study shows that among the 16 launchers surveyed, the Zenit 2 is currently the lowest cost vehicle for achieving LEO in terms of payload weight per launch ($1167-1667 per pound), and one of the lowest in terms of total costs per launch ($35-$50 million). * Current models:
Zenit 3SL Zenit-3SL is a three stage carrier rocket developed for and used by the Sea Launch consortium. It combines: Rockets used by Sea Launch are assembled in Long Beach, California. Launches occur from the Ocean Odyssey offshore launch platform, situated at the equator. The Ocean Odyssey is also used to transport rockets to the launch site. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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