SPACE LAUNCH REPORT Topal'(-M)/Start(-1) Flight History (1982-Present) Includes Failure History by Ed Kyle, Last Update December 31, 2023 L(F) = Number of Launches(Number of Failures) Topal' Topal'-M Topal'-E RS-24 RS-26 Suborb* Suborb* Yars Rubezh RT-2PM RT-2PM2 SS-NX-30 Year L(F) L(F) L(F) L(F) L(F) ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1980 - - - - - 1981 - - - - - 1982 1(1) - - - - 1983 3(1) - - - - 1984 N(N) - - - - 1985 1(0) - - - - 1986 N(N) - - - - 1987 N(N) - - - - 1988 N(N) - - - - 1989 N(N) - - - - 1990 13(0) - - - - 1991 5(0) - - - - 1992 - - - - - 1993 2(0) - - - - 1994 3(0) 1(0) - - - 1995 2(0) 1(0) - - - 1996 3(0) 1(0) - - - 1997 1(0) 1(0) - - - 1998 1(0) 2(1) - - - 1999 1(0) 3(0) - - - 2000 1(0) 3(0) - - - 2001 2(0) 1(0) - - - 2002 1(0) 1(0) - - - 2003 1(0) - - - - 2004 2(0) 2(0) - - - 2005 1(0) 1(0) - - - 2006 1(0) - - - - 2007 - 2(0) - 2(0) - 2008 1(0) - - 1(0) - 2009 2(0) - - - - 2010 2(0) - - - - 2011 2(0) - - - 1(1) 2012 2(0) - - - 2(0) 2013 3(0) - - 1(0) 1(0) 2014 1(0) 1(0) 3(1) 2(0) - 2015 2(0) 1(0) 1(0) 1(0) 1(0) 2016 2(0) - - 1(1) - 2017 3(0) 1(0) - 2(0) - 2018 - - 1(1) 1(0) - 2019 2(0) 1(0) - 1(0) - 2020 - - - 1(0) - 2021 - - - - - 2022 - - - 2(0) - 2023 - - - 2(0)x - ------------------------------------------------------------------ Topal' Topal'-M Topal'-E RS-24 RS-26 Suborb* Suborb* Yars* Rubezh* Year L(F) L(F) L(F) L(F) L(F) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Suborb 105(2) 23(1) 5(2) 17(1) 5(1) Orbital - - - - - Total 105(2) 23(1) 5(2) 17(1) 5(1) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Topal'(-M)/Start(-1) Flight History, Cont'd Bulava** Start% Start-1% Topal' Topal' Orbital Total Total Year L(F) L(F) L(F) L(F) L(F) ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1980 - - - - - 1981 - - - - - 1982 - - - - 1(1) 1983 - - - - 3(1) 1984 - - - - N(N) 1985 - - - - 1(0) 1986 - - - - N(N) 1987 - - - - N(N) 1988 - - - - N(N) 1989 - - - - N(N) 1990 - - - - 13(0) 1991 - - - - 5(0) 1992 - - - - - 1993 - - 1(0) 1(0) 3(0) 1994 - - - - 4(0) 1995 - 1(1) - 1(1) 4(1) 1996 - - - - 4(0) 1997 - - 2(0) 2(0) 4(0) 1998 - - - - 3(1) 1999 - - - - 4(0) 2000 - - 1(0) 1(0) 5(0) 2001 - - 1(0) 1(0) 4(0) 2002 - - - - 2(0) 2003 - - - - 1(0) 2004 - - - - 4(0) 2005 2(0) - - - 4(0) 2006 3(3) - 1(0) 1(0) 6(3) 2007 2(1) - - - 6(1) 2008 3(2) - - - 5(2) 2009 2(2) - - - 4(2) 2010 2(0) - - - 4(0) 2011 5(0) - - - 8(1) 2012 - - - - 4(0) 2013 1(0) - - - 6(0) 2014 3(0) - - - 10(1) 2015 2(1) - - - 7(1) 2016 2(1) - - - 5(2) 2017 1(0) - - - 7(0) 2018 4(0) - - - 6(1) 2019 2(0) - - - 6(0) 2020 4(0) - - - 5(0) 2021 1(0) - - - 1(0) 2022 1(0) - - - 3(0) 2023 1(0) - - - 3(0) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Bulava* Start Start-1 Topal' Topal' Orbital Total Total Year L(F) L(F) L(F) L(F) L(F) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Suborb 41(10) - - - 196(17) Orbital - 1(1) 6(0) 7(1) 7(1) Total 41(10) 1(1) 6(0) - 203(18) ------------------------------------------------------------------ List of Topal'/START Failures Date Vehicle ID Site Payload Result# ------------------------------------------------------------------ 10/27/1982 Topol' 1 PL ICBM Test [FSO]* 05/04/1983 Topol' 3 PL ICBM Test [FSO]* 03/28/1995 Start PL 158 Techsat1/UnamsatA/EKA2 [FTO] 10/22/1998 Topol'-M 5 PL 158 ICBM Test [FSO]* 09/07/2006 Bulava 3 WH SLBM Test [FSO]* 10/25/2006 Bulava 4 WH SLBM Test [FSO]* 12/24/2006 Bulava 5 WH SLBM Test [FSO]* 11/10/2007 Bulava 7 WH SLBM Test [FSO]* 09/18/2008 Bulava 8 WH SLBM Test [FSO]* 12/23/2008 Bulava 10 WH SLBM Test [FSO]* 07/15/2009 Bulava 11 BA? SLBM Development Test [FSO]* 12/09/2009 Bulava 12 WH SLBM Development Test [FSO]* 09/27/2011 Rubezh 1 PL ICBM Test [FSO]* 11/11/2014 Topol'-E KY ICBM Test [FSO]* 11/14/2015 Bulava 24 WS SLBM Test [FSO]* 08/25/2016 RS-24 Yars PL Suborbital Test [FSO]* 09/28/2016 Bulava WH Suborbital Test [FSO]* ------------------------------------------------------------------ List of Topal'/START Failure Causes Date Failure Description ------------------------------------------------------------------ 10/27/1982 Missile Test Failure 05/04/1983 Missile Test Failure 03/28/1995 Ctrl sys stopped stg4 12s early, no stg5 start sig 10/22/1998 Missle Test Failure after Stg 1 burn 09/07/2006 2nd stg failure at startup 10/25/2006 Veered off course shortly after launch. Broke up. 12/24/2006 3rd stg failure 11/10/2007 Failure during 1st stg shortly after sub launch 09/18/2008 Bus no sep warheads after good 3-stg flight. 12/23/2008 Failed after Stg 1 sep. (some say Stg 3 failed) 07/15/2009 Stg 1 failed after launch from Dmitry Donskoi 12/09/2009 Seen spiraling during 3rd stg burn over Norway 09/27/2011 Crashed 8 km from launch site. 1st Rubezh 11/11/2014 Unknown Failure Early in Flight 11/14/2015 SLBM damaged during launch, causing target miss 08/25/2016 Unconfirmed. Crater 200km downrange 09/28/2016 Autodestruct after launch from Yury Dolgoruky ------------------------------------------------------------------ Footnotes: * Suborbital ICBM/SLBM test flights. Topal' totals estimated based on reports in Russian media. N(N) denotes launch data uncertainty during Cold War. % Five-stage Start orbital launcher composed of one Topol' first stage, two tandem Topol' second stages, one Topol' third stage, and one Start upper stage. Four-stage Start-1 orbital launcher composed of three-stage solid-propellant Topol' with one solid propellant START upper (fourth) stage. ** Bulava is sub-launched version based on Topol'-M x One Yars-E, one Yars # FTO: Failed to Orbit FSO*: Failed Suborbital (EEO): Unintended Eliptical Earth Orbit (GTO): Unintended Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (LEO): Unintended/Improper Low Earth Orbit Site Code: PL = Plesetsk Northern Cosmodrome, Russia WH = White Sea (Sub Launch), Russia Vehicle Configurations ------------------------------------------------------------------ LEO 200 km Height GLOW Payload Sun Synchronous (meters) (tonnes) (tonnes) Earth Orbit 200 km x 52 deg (tonnes) ================================================================== Start-1 0.6 t 0.46 t 22.7 m 47 t ================================================================== Start-1: 3 stage RT-2PM Topol + Start-1 4th stage Vehicle Components ------------------------------------------------------------------ Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Payload Fairing ================================================================== Diameter (m) 1.8 m 1.55 m 1.34 m 1.4 m 1.24 m Length (m) 8.1 m 4.6 m 3.9 m 1.4 m 2.5 m Mb/o (tonnes) 4.8 t 1.5 t 1 t 0.3 t Mp (tonnes) 23 t 11.5 t 5 t 0.7 t GLOW (tonnes) 27.8 t 13 t 6 t 1 t ~0.4 t Motor MIHT-1 MIHT-2 MIHT-3 MIHT-4 Mfgr MIHT MIHT MIHT MIHT Fuel Solid Solid Solid Solid Oxidizer Solid Solid Solid Solid T(SL tonnes) T(Vac tonnes) 100 t 50 t 25 t 10.43 t ISP (SL sec) ISP (Vac sec) 263 s 280 s 280 s 295 s Burn Time (sec) 63 s 60s 63 s 53 s No. Motors 1 1 1 1 ================================================================== Example Ascent Profile to 481 km SSO from Svobodny Time Event Altitude Velocity ------------------------------------------------------------------ T+0 s Liftoff 0 km 0 m/s T+63 s Stage 1 Burnout T+87 s Staging/Stage 2 Ignition 39 km 1283 m/s T+148 s Staging/Stage 3 Ignition 86 km 3347 m/s T+211 s Stage 3 Burnout/Staging 211 km 5535 m/s T+488 s Stage 4 Ignition 478 km 5012 m/s T+538 s Stage 4 Burnout/PBPS Start 478 km 7704 m/s T+763 s PBPS Cutoff 480 km 7703 m/s ------------------------------------------------------------------ References Start-1 User's Guide, United Start, 2002 Start-1 Start-1 was a small four-stage solid fuel space launch vehicle based on Russia's RT-2PM Topol (SS-25) intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The launcher, marketed by ZAO Puskovie Uslugi of Russia, could boost up to 600 kg into low earth orbit from Svobodny Cosmodrome, a Topol missile site, in Western Siberia. The Moscow Institute of Heat Technology (MIHT) developed the three-stage Topol ICBM, a missle with approximately the same characteristics as the U.S. Minuteman ICBM, during the 1980s. The missile was designed from the outset to be a mobile system, launched from a container carried by a mobile transporter erector launcher (TEL). At the end of the Cold War, surplus Topol missiles were offered for use as space launchers. With a new fourth stage added to provide the final orbital kick, the launcher was named "Start-1". A second "Start" model, which used two Topol second stages (5 stages total) was also offered. The first Start-1 orbital test launch, a success, took place from Plestesk in 1993. A single "Start" test flight attempt failed the following year. No subsequent 5-stage "Start" attempts were made. Operational Start-1 launches began from Svobodny in 1997. Six orbital flights, all successful, took place by mid-2006. Start-1 was 22.7 meters tall and 1.8 meters in diameter. It weighed about 47 tonnes at liftoff. Start-1 was ejected from its erected transporter canister by gas pressure developed by a solid propellant gas generator. Its first stage motor ignited shortly after the vehicle cleared the canister. The first stage was controlled by four jet vanes in the exhaust and by four fold-out, grid-type air vanes at the base of the vehicle. The vehicle coasted for about 21 seconds after first stage burn-out before the second stage ignited and separated. Flight control during the second and third stage burns was provided by gas injection into the fixed nozzle exhaust. The Start-1 fourth stage coasted for several minutes after the third stage fell away. During the coast, flight control was provided by a gas-dynamic reaction control system (GRACS). During the fourth stage burn, the GRACS provided roll control. Yaw and pitch control was provided by main nozzle gimballing. After the fourth stage burn, a cold-nitrogen gas post-boost propulsion system worked for up to 200 seconds to provide the final orbital insertion fine-tuning. References: Jonathan's Space Report Launch Vehicle Database at "http://www.planet4589.org/space/lvdb/index.html" Encylopedia Astronautica "http://www.astronautix.com/" Gunter's Space Page "http://www.skyrocket.de/space" Orbital Report "http://www.orbireport.com" Russian Space Web "www.russianspaceweb.com" Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces Project "www.russianforces.org"