# Yuzhnoye Zenit 3f
*launch services*

Retired Zenit-3F / Zenit-2SB-Fregat-SB launch configuration used from Baikonur for four high-energy missions between 2011 and 2017.

## Specifications
- **vehicle family**: Zenit-3F / Zenit-2SB with Fregat-SB
- **entity type**: launch_service
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-16
- **verified by**: community
- **claim status**: unclaimed
- **provider**: roscosmos
- **attributes**: {"vehicle_family":"Zenit-3F / Zenit-2SB with Fregat-SB","description":"Retired Zenit-3F / Zenit-2SB-Fregat-SB launch configuration used from Baikonur for four high-energy missions between 2011 and 2017."}

## Editorial
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.[^spaceflightnow-elektro-l2][^space-stats-zenit3f][^gunter-zenit3f]

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.[^spaceflightnow-elektro-l2][^space-stats-zenit3f][^gunter-zenit3f] 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.[^spaceflightnow-elektro-l2][^spaceflightnow-angosat][^space-stats-zenit3f]

Zenit-3F operated from 2011-01-20 to 2017-12-26 and is retired, with no flights after AngoSat-1.[^space-stats-zenit3f][^gunter-zenit3f][^spaceflightnow-angosat] Its EO relevance includes the 2015-12-11 launch of Elektro-L No.2, a Russian geostationary weather satellite.[^spaceflightnow-elektro-l2]

## Sources
- [spaceflightnow-elektro-l2] | Russian weather satellite lifts off aboard Zenit rocket, Spaceflight Now | https://spaceflightnow.com/2015/12/11/russian-weather-satellite-lifts-off-aboard-zenit-rocket/ | tier=third-party | accessed=2026-06-16 | published=2015-12-11
- [spaceflightnow-angosat] | Controllers lose contact with new Angolan communications satellite, Spaceflight Now | https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/12/26/angolas-first-communications-satellite-ready-for-launch-tuesday/ | tier=third-party | accessed=2026-06-16 | published=2017-12-26
- [space-stats-zenit3f] | Zenit 3F, Space Stats | https://spacestatsonline.com/rockets/zenit3f/ | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-16
- [gunter-zenit3f] | Zenit-3F, Gunter's Space Page | https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_lau_det/zenit-3f.htm | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-16

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/launch_services/yuzhnoye-zenit-3f
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)