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Blok DM-03

Not to be confused with Blok DM3.
Blok DM-03
ManufacturerRKK Energia, JSC Krasnoyarsk Machine-Building Plant (since 1990)[1]
Country of originRussia
Used onProton-M
Angara A5
Associated stages
FamilyBlok D
Derived fromBlok DM-2
Blok DM-SL
ComparableBriz-M
Launch history
StatusActive
Total launches8
Successes
(stage only)		6
Failed2[note 1]
Lower stage
failed		1[note 1]
First flight5 December 2010
Last flight5 February 2023
Specifications
Powered byRD-58MF
PropellantRP-1/LOX

The Blok DM-03 (Russian: Блок ДМ-03 meaning Block DM-03), GRAU index 11S861-03, is a Russian upper stage used as an optional fourth stage on the Proton-M and Angara A5 heavy-lift rockets. Three have been launched, the first in December 2010;[2] the first two launches failed before fourth stage ignition, the first as a result of a problem with the Blok DM's fuel load.[3] Some versions are also known as Orion.[4]

Initial versions of the Blok DM-03 are powered by a single RD-58M engine, burning RG-1 and liquid oxygen. The last evolution is powered by the improved RD-58MF, a less powerful but more efficient evolution of the venerable engine. It can carry 25% more propellant than the Blok DM-2, which it replaced as a Proton upper stage for some government launches.[3] However most government launches and all commercial missions use the Briz-M instead. The payloads for the first two Blok DM-03 launches were groups of three Uragan-M satellites for the GLONASS programme, with further missions slated to carry three more Uragan-M satellites, and two Ekspress satellites on separate launches. The Blok DM can inject payloads into orbit more accurately than the Briz-M,[5] making it better suited for launching satellites such as the Uragan-M which lack apogee motors.

When production ended in 2012, five Blok DM-03 stages had been produced by RKK Energia, for use on Proton and potentially Zenit rockets.[3] A new version of the upper stage is expected to be introduced once the five launches are complete;[6] all five DM-03s have been slated for Proton launches between 2010 and 2015. During a November 2014 interview, Vladimir Kolmykov, the Deputy General Director of the Chemical Division of Krasnoyarsk Machine-Building Plant, stated that the production of Block-DM was suspended during that year, but work on the stage and development of the RD-58MF resumed during 2015.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference krasm-blokd was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference gsp-blokd was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference rsw-2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Third time is a charm for Block DM-03". RussianSpaceWeb.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference nsf-20130701 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference rsw-n1d was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference krasm-sineva201478 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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