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 Blok may refer to:
*Blok (surname)
*Blok (comics), the fictional superhero of the DC Comics universe
*Blok M, downtown shopping area in Jakarta, Indonesia
*Mega Bloks, plastic building blocks produced by Mega Bloks, Incorporated
*The Vlaams Blok (D ...
) 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
The Molniya-M (russian: Молния, meaning "lightning"), designation 8K78M, was a Soviet Union (later Russian) launch vehicle derived from the R-7 Semyorka Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The original 8K78 booster had been the ...
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
The Venera (, , which means "Venus" in Russian) program was the name given to a series of space probes developed by the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1984 to gather information about the planet Venus. Ten probes successfully landed on the s ...
probes to
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
.
Molniya (E6) was a minor revision adapted for launch of some
Luna
Luna commonly refers to:
* Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin
* Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon
Luna may also refer to:
Places Philippines
* Luna, Apayao
* Luna, Isabela
* Luna, La Union
* Luna, San Jose
Roma ...
series space probes.
Characteristics
* Length: 43.440 m
* Diameter: 10.300 m
* Launch mass: 305,000 kg
See also
*
Soyuz launch vehicle
The Soyuz (russian: Союз, meaning "union", GRAU index 11A511) was a Soviet expendable carrier rocket designed in the 1960s by OKB-1 and manufactured by State Aviation Plant No. 1 in Kuybyshev, Soviet Union. It was commissioned to launch ...
*
Voskhod rocket
The Voskhod rocket (russian: Восход, ''"ascent"'', ''"dawn"'') was a derivative of the Soviet R-7 ICBM designed for the human spaceflight programme but later used for launching Zenit reconnaissance satellites. It consisted of the M ...
*
Venera 4V-2
Venera 4V-2 (russian: Венера 4В-2) was a series of two identical spacecraft sent to Venus by the Soviet Union, consisting of Venera 15 and Venera 16. Both unmanned orbiters were to map the surface of Venus using high resolution imaging syste ...
References
1960 in spaceflight
1961 in spaceflight
1962 in spaceflight
1963 in spaceflight
1973 in spaceflight
Space launch vehicles of the Soviet Union
R-7 (rocket family)
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