A family of light launch vehicles was based of the RSM-54 (SS-N-23) SLBM: SHTIL, SHTIL-2.1 and SHTIL-2R. The launch vehicles were designed to put small spacecraft into near-earth orbits. The LVs are launched from submarines or from the ground launch range in the north of Russia.

The SHTIL LV in the assembly building

The SHTIL LV can put spacecraft of up to 80 kg into a 500-km orbit inclined 79 deg. To improve payload accommodation the SHTIL-2.1 with a nose fairing was designed that allows launching a payload of up to 150 kg into the same orbit. With a larger fairing and smaller booster (SHTIL-2R) the LV payload area is enlarged and the payload mass to be put into a 500-km orbit inclined 79 deg. can be increased up to 200 kg.

From a submarine the SHTIL LV can be launched to orbits of any inclination.

In 1998 the TUBSAT-N and TUBSAT-N1 satellites designed at the Technical University of Berlin (Germany) were successfully launched by the SHTIL launch vehicle from a submerged submarine.

A long-term program for launching the KOMPAS spacecraft by SHTIL LVs is under implementation. In May 2006 the KOMPAS-2 spacecraft was injected into a 500-km near-earth orbit.

The satellite

The encapsulated satellite aboard LV

The protective capsule

Standard flight profile