EO·Atlas
Yuzhnoye Zenit 3f
Retired Zenit-3F / Zenit-2SB-Fregat-SB launch configuration used from Baikonur for four high-energy missions between 2011 and 2017.
Zenit-3F, also known as Zenit-3SLBF or Zenit-2SB/Fregat-SB, was a three-stage Zenit-family configuration for high-energy missions from Baikonur.[1][2][3]
The configuration paired a Ukrainian Zenit-2SB or Zenit-2M core with a Russian Fregat-SB upper stage, distinct from Zenit-3SL and Zenit-3SLB vehicles that used Block-DM-family upper stages.[1][2][3] Roscosmos was the historical Baikonur launch service provider for this configuration; the industrial structure included the Yuzhnoye/Yuzhmash Zenit core and the Russian Fregat-SB upper-stage chain.[1][4][2]
Zenit-3F operated from 2011-01-20 to 2017-12-26 and is retired, with no flights after AngoSat-1.[2][3][4] Its EO relevance includes the 2015-12-11 launch of Elektro-L No.2, a Russian geostationary weather satellite.[1]
- [1]Russian weather satellite lifts off aboard Zenit rocket, Spaceflight Nowthird party2015-12-112026-06-16
- [2]Controllers lose contact with new Angolan communications satellite, Spaceflight Nowthird party2017-12-262026-06-16
- [3]Zenit 3F, Space Statscommunity-2026-06-16
- [4]Zenit-3F, Gunter's Space Pagecommunity-2026-06-16