Molniya
Molniya (Russian for ''lightning'') may refer to: * Molniya (satellite), a Soviet military communications satellite ** Molniya orbit * Molniya (explosive trap), a KGB explosive device * Molniya (rocket), a variation of the Soyuz launch vehicle * OKB-4 Molniya, an experimental design bureau responsible for the Molniya R-60 and Vympel R-73 air-to-air missiles * NPO Molniya, a Soviet design bureau responsible for the Shuttle Buran programme * Molnija, a Russian watch and clockmaker * Molniya, a project of the Tarantul class corvette The Soviet designation Project 1241 ''Molniya'' (russian: Молния, , Lightning) are a class of Russian missile corvettes (large missile cutters in Soviet classification). They have the NATO reporting name Tarantul (not to be confused with ...

Molniya Orbit
A Molniya orbit ( rus, Молния, p=ˈmolnʲɪjə, a=Ru-молния.ogg, "Lightning") is a type of satellite orbit designed to provide communications and remote sensing coverage over high latitudes. It is a highly elliptical orbit with an inclination of 63.4 degrees, an argument of perigee of 270 degrees, and an orbital period of approximately half a sidereal day. The name comes from the ''Molniya'' satellites, a series of Soviet/Russian civilian and military communications satellites which have used this type of orbit since the mid-1960s. The Molniya orbit has a long dwell time over the hemisphere of interest, while moving very quickly over the other. In practice, this places it over either Russia or Canada for the majority of its orbit, providing a high angle of view to communications and monitoring satellites covering these high-latitude areas. Geostationary orbits, which are necessarily inclined over the equator, can only view these regions from a low angle, hamperin ...
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Molniya (satellite)
The Molniya ( rus, Молния, p=ˈmolnʲɪjə, a=Ru-молния.ogg, "Lightning") series satellites were military and communications satellites launched by the Soviet Union from 1965 to 2004. These satellites used highly eccentric elliptical orbits known as Molniya orbits, which have a long dwell time over high latitudes. They are suited for communications purposes in polar regions, in the same way that geostationary satellites are used for equatorial regions. There were 164 Molniya satellites launched, all in Molniya orbits with the exception of Molniya 1S which was launched into geostationary orbit for testing purposes. History In the early 1960s, when Europe and America were establishing geostationary communication satellites, the Russians found these orbits unsuitable. They were limited in the amount of rocket power available and it is extremely energy intensive to both launch a satellite to 40,000 km, and change its inclination to be over the equator, especially whe ...
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NPO Molniya
NPO Molniya (''lightning'') (russian: Научно-производственное объединение «Молния») is a Russian scientific and production enterprise, founded on February 26, 1976. Currently part of Rostec. Space systems At present, NPO Molniya is working on reusable launch systems for space applications. Aircraft The NPO Molniya Molniya-1 is a three surface design with single pusher propeller and twin tail booms. In the late 1990s, the company proposed a number of larger types based on the three surface configuration. *Molniya 400 - a proposed jet cargo aircraft or airliner with a high-mounted wing and powered by two PS-90A turbofans. Freighter version would have had a rear fuselage ramp. * Molniya-1000 Heracles - a proposed super heavy freighter to replace the VM-T Atlant and An-225 as a space load carrier. Unusual twin open fuselage design with the shuttle or other payload carried between the fuselages. A high mounted wing with six turbofan engine ...
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Molniya (rocket)
The Molniya (russian: Молния, meaning "lightning"), GRAU Index 8K78, was a modification of the well-known R-7 Semyorka rocket and had four stages. The 8K78 resulted from a crash program by the Korolev Bureau to develop a booster for launching planetary probes. A larger third stage was added along with a fourth stage (Blok L) that was designed to fire in-orbit to send the payload out of LEO. The basic R-7 core was also structurally strengthened and given more powerful engines. A rushed development produced multiple malfunctions of the upper stages, which led to its being replaced by the improved Molniya-M in 1964, but there were enough 8K78s left to continue flying them into 1967.The Soyuz Launch Vehicle: The Two Lives of an Engineering Triumph By Christian Lardier, Stefan Barensky, page 156 The Molniya also carried early Venera probes to Venus. Molniya (E6) was a minor revision adapted for launch of some Luna series space probes. Characteristics * Length: 43.440 m * ...
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Molnija
Chelyabinsk Watch Factory "Molnija" (sometimes transliterated ''Molniya''; russian: Челябинский часовой завод) was a Russian watch and clockmaker based in Chelyabinsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast. ''Molnija'' (Молния) is the Russian word for ''lightning''. History The Molnija clock and watch factory opened on November 17, 1947. The company's main customer was then the Soviet Union Department of Defense, providing them with wristwatches, pocket watches and table clocks. Molnija's main product were mechanical pocket watches with military, religious and historical motifs. The Molnija movement is basically a copy of a Cortébert movement used in Swiss watches from around 1940. About 80% of the work on most of the watches was done by hand. Some Molnija movements were used in oversized men's wristwatches. Early Molnija pocket watch movements (from 1947 to c. 1960) normally had 15 jewels. Later ones (from around 1965 to 1997) normally had 18 jewels. However from ...
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Molniya (explosive Trap)
Molniya (russian: молния, translation=lightning) was an explosive device used to booby trap certain buried or otherwise concealed containers used by the KGB to cache items, such as shortwave radio receivers, cryptographic materials, and allegedly even suitcase nuclear devices. A sequence of specific actions had to be taken in the correct order to render the device safe prior to moving or opening the container, or the device would automatically detonate. This detonation was designed to be lethal to anyone in its immediate proximity, as well as being sufficient to destroy all materials in the cache. From at least 1955 to the 1970s, such caches were allegedly pre-positioned in many countries — including confirmed locations in the United States and Switzerland — for planned terrorist and sabotage acts during the Cold War. At least some were booby-trapped with "Molniya". One such cache, identified by KGB defector Vasili Mitrokhin, exploded when Swiss authorities fired ...
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OKB-4 Molniya
Vympel NPO is a Russian research and production company based near Moscow, mostly known for their air-to-air missiles. Other projects include SAM and ABM defenses. It was started in the Soviet era as an OKB (experimental design bureau). History Vympel started out after World War II as OKB-134, with leading the team. The first product they designed was the K-7 missile. Their first missile built in serial production was the K-13 (R-13) in 1958. Toropov moved to Tushino Aviation Facility in 1961 and was replaced by . Somewhere between 1966 and 1968 the OKB got renamed to Vympel. In 1977 Matus Bisnovat of OKB-4 Molniya died, and all missile related work was passed to Vympel. G. Khokhlov led the team until 1981, when Genadiy A. Sokolovski succeeded him. In 1992 the GosMKB Vympel got started on the basis of the OKB and in 1994 Sokolovski became the director of development at the company. In May 2004 the Tactical Missiles Corporation was formed and Vympel became a part of it, as ...
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