Space: Russia Breaks a Record
"July 1, 2014: On June 5th a retired Russian ICBM (a 217 ton RS-20/SS-18) launched a record 37 satellites at once (actually at 30 second intervals) after the third stage achieved the intended 630 kilometer high orbit. The RS-20 has a max satellite payload of nearly three tons. That means the average satellite weighed about 60 kg (132 pounds). Some of the 37 satellite were quite a bit heavier and most of the 37 were microsatellites (under 10 kg/22 pounds).
Russia only has a few dozen of the RS-20s left but three times as many of the smaller (106 ton) RS-18/SS-19 ICBMS for this sort of thing. These retired ICBMs have proved economical and popular for launching the growing number of highly capable but lightweight satellites. In August 2013 a RS-18 launched a South Korean 1.4 ton KOMPSAT 5 satellite that uses a radar that can detect objects and landforms as small as one meter (39 inches) across. This satellite is mainly for obtaining geographic (land and sea) information and supporting disaster response and environmental monitoring. While the satellite was new tech, the launcher was 1970s technology that was affordable and reliable because it was military surplus.
Russia still has about a hundred (out of a 1980s peak of 360) RS-18s in service and expects to keep some of them active into the next decade. Now it appears that most of these will be retired to satellite launching work. The 24.5 meter (76 foot) long RS-18 uses storable liquid fuel, meaning that the missile is inherently more complex to maintain than a solid fuel missile. Thus the older engines, and other components, of the first RS-18s to enter service are expensive to maintain but still in good shape to launch. Instead of nuclear warheads, the retired RS-18s are putting satellites into orbit before their engines become too old to be reliable. So far over 90 percent of the RS-18s used as satellite launchers were successful, which by any standard is exceptional. More importantly, liquid fuel rockets can lift a heavier load than solid fuel rockets so the last generation of Russian liquid fuel ICBMs (the RS-18 and RS-20) are superior as satellite launchers than American ICBMs (which since the 1980s have all been solid fuel). The last liquid fuel American ICBM, the Titan, was also converted to be a satellite launcher and many were later built just for that. The last of these was used in 2003.
The RS-18 entered service in 1975, and it wasn't until the 1980s that Russia began producing reliable solid fuel rocket motors large enough for ICBMs (the 45 ton RS-12M). The last RS-18s were manufactured in 1990, and Russia expects each of them to have a useful life of 30 years via the equipment improvements and careful maintenance. Older ones will often end up being used for satellite launches rather than scrap."
Wow, 37 Satellites at once!
http://strategypage.com/htmw/htspace/articles/20140701.aspx
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