R-36O 8K69 (Yuzhnoye Design Bureau)
The R-36O 8K69, manufactured by Yuzhnoye Design Bureau established in 1951, undertook its inaugural launch on 07/28/1965, is non-reusable and is inactive.
R-36O 8K69 has 19 successful launches and 2 failed attempts, with a cumulative tally of 21 launches, currently with 0 pending launches in the pipeline.
The R-36O was the only orbiting military nuclear weapon ever deployed, although in order to remain legal under international treaties it was a 'fractional orbital' weapon. Although American infrared early warning satellites invalidated the 'surprise attack' component of the concept, 18 missiles were operational from 1969 to 1983.
- Length: 32.6 m
- Diameter: 3 m
- Launch Mass: 182 T
Manufacturer
Yuzhnoye Design Bureau (OKB-586)
Director: Alexander Degtyarev
Yuzhnoye Design Office, located in Dnipro, Ukraine, is a designer of satellites and rockets, and formerly of Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) established by Mikhail Yangel in 1951. The Zenit launch vehicle currently launches from Baikonur Cosmodrome but also used to launch from an ocean platform, Odyssey.