Space

Ukraine and Space Transportation Systems

Although Ukraine has no domestic space launch facilities, the former Soviet republic has been producing high quality ballistic missile and launch vehicles for more than 30 years. Its current offerings include the Tsyklon and Zerlaunch vehicle families. Moreover, the Russia Kosmos-3M launch vehicle is derived from the Ukrainian R-14 ballistic missile. Ukraine also hopes to convert some of its other ballistic missiles into new small-capacity launch vehicles and continues to be a prime supplier of components for Russian launch vehicles. The heart of Ukrainian ballistic missile and launch vehicle expertise is the Uzhnoye (Southern Scientific Production Association which evolved from the Yangel Design Bureau).