Yuzhnoye State Design Office developed a considerable number of large - size solid propellant rocket motors (SRM) used as sustainers of solid propellant ballistic missiles of onground (stationary and mobile-automobile and railroad) and sea basing modes. In the process of development of the above range of motors, more than 20 various model and experimental SRM were created to test the main design solutions on sustainers and to confirm correctness of adopted design, configuration, and technological solutions.
Yuzhnoye State Design Office was the first in the world practice of solid propellant engine-building to begin the development of solid propellant main stage propulsion systems (a set consisting of SRM and support dements and devices of both motor and rocket), i.e. the development of rocket stages in the full sense.
Five types of sustainers (propulsion systems) for the first and second stages of solid propellant ICBM were built. The main peculiarities of the motors (propulsion systems) are as follows:
- casing - from metal, divided to monoblock of "cocoon" type made of composite materials;
- solid propellant charges - from inserted to firmly fastened to the casing, made of composite solid propellant, channel-slot type and with the channels of star - shape section;
- nozzle units - from four-nozzle to one-nozzle with turning and stationary nozzles partially deepened into the motor combustion chamber, with collapsible nozzle cones of the upper stages motors;
- motor thrust vector control in direction - with the help of four-nozzle units in pitch, yaw, and roll, with the help of turning control nozzles - in pitch and yaw or with the use of injection of gas taken from the combustion chamber (in all three channels).
Used as rocket first and second stages sustainers.