Family-level launch record combining canonical variants, historical missions, public cadence forecasts, and available payload performance specs.
Historical missions are grouped by actual launch year. Forecast cadence uses family-level launch-rate rows.
| Year | Historical missions | Forecast launches |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 6 | 0 |
| 2009 | 4 | 0 |
| 2011 | 5 | 0 |
| 2012 | 3 | 0 |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 |
Payload capacity by variant and target orbit when structured capacity rows are available.
| Variant | Orbit | Capacity | Altitude | Inclination | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No performance specsNo structured payload capacity rows are linked to this vehicle family. | |||||
Latest launched missions using variants in this family.
| Mission | Variant | Launch |
|---|---|---|
| Angosat | Zenit-3SLBF | Dec 26, 2017 |
| Elektro-L No. 2 Mission | Zenit-3SLBF | Dec 11, 2015 |
| Eutelsat 3B | Zenit-3SL | May 26, 2014 |
| Amos 4 Mission |
Canonical variants rolled up into this launch vehicle family.
| Variant | Stages | Missions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Zenit-2 | Not stated | 34 | Retired |
Zenit-2 11K77.05 | Not stated | 1 | Retired |
Zenit-2M | Not stated | 1 | Retired |
Zenit-2SB | Not stated | 1 | Retired |
Zenit-3SLB |
| Aug 31, 2013 |
| Launch 2013-F01 | Zenit-3SL | Feb 1, 2013 |
| SL50 Eutelsat 70B | Zenit-3SL | Dec 3, 2012 |
| SL49 Intelsat IS-21 | Zenit-3SL | Aug 19, 2012 |
| SL45 Intelsat IS-19 | Zenit-3SL | Jun 1, 2012 |
Upcoming mission rows with announced launch timing.
| Mission | Variant | Announced |
|---|---|---|
No forecasted missionsNo upcoming announced mission rows are linked to this vehicle family. | ||
Zenit-3SL | Not stated | 36 | Retired |
Zenit-3SLB | Not stated | 6 | Retired |
Zenit-3SLBF | Not stated | 4 | Retired |
SL-16 is a Zenit-2 rocket that features non-restartable second stages.
In September 1998, a Zenit-2 launch vehicle burned up in the atmosphere five minutes after launching from Baikonur Cosmodrome, resulting in the loss of 12 Globalstar satellites.
Four Zenit-2 satellites launched in 1962–1963 carried an experimental film readout system called Baikal.
The first-generation photoreconnaissance satellites named Zenit-2 attempted to relay images back to Earth via radio channels.
Sea Launch has been an enterprise dominated by Russian and Ukrainian companies and uses Zenit launch vehicles produced by Ukraine’s Yuzhmash.
China’s Yunhai-1 (02) satellite experienced a breakup in March 2021 following a probable collision with mission-related debris from a 1996 Russian Zenit launch.
Debris object 1996-051Q is associated with the Zenit-2 launch that deployed the Russian Cosmos 2333 military signals intelligence satellite in 1996.
Soyuz-5 is under development and is designed to use infrastructure originally built for the Zenit.
The two Sea Launch vessels were used for launches of the Zenit-3SL, most recently in May 2014.
Spaceway-1 was launched in 2005 on a Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket.
Soyuz-5 will use existing infrastructure at Baikonur that was originally built for the Zenit rocket, with certain upgrades to the launch pad and processing facilities.
Boeing participated in the Sea Launch venture to launch Zenit rockets from a modified mobile offshore platform and later ended its involvement to focus on ULA.
Sicral 1B is a 3,000-kilogram military communications satellite that launched on a Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket to geostationary-transfer orbit in 2009.
Angosat-1 launched in December from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan onboard a Zenit 3F rocket.