| Molniya (R-7 8K78) | |
| Country-Origin: | Soviet Union |
| Manufacturer: | Energia |
| Function: | Medium launch vehicle |
| Height: | 43.44 m |
| Diameter: | 10.3 m |
| Mass: | 305,000 kg |
| Stages: | 4 |
| Family: | R-7 |
| Status: | Retired |
| Sites: | Baikonur, Plesetsk |
| Launches: | 40 |
| Success: | 20 |
| Fail: | 9 |
| Partial: | 11 |
The Molniya (ru|Молния, meaning "lightning"), GRAU Index 8K78, was a modification of the well-known R-7 Semyorka rocket and had four stages.[1] [2] The rocket was given the name Molniya due to the large number of Molniya communication satellites the rockets launched.[3]
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 (replacing the inaccurate direct ascent of the first generation Luna probes launched on the 8K72) and the core and strap-ons had the new uprated 8D74K first stage engines. The first couple of 8K78s flown used an 8K74 core however vehicles flown in 1962-63 used the older 8K71 core. The 8K74 core returned for vehicles flown in 1964 and later.
The initial 8K78s had a faulty Blok I design that was prone to vibration issues and pump cavitation. The Blok I was redesigned afterward and the improved version was first flown on 11 November 1963. The uprated 8K78M booster was introduced in 1965 but 8K78s continued to fly into 1967.[4] [5] [6] [7] The Molniya also carried early Venera probes to Venus.
Molniya (E6) was a minor revision adapted for Luna E-6 series space probes where the guidance system for the entire launch vehicle was moved to the probe itself.
Molniya rockets were launched 40 times:
| 10.10.1960 | Molniya | L1-4M | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Mars (1a) (1M #1) | ||
| 14.10.1960 | Molniya | L1-5M | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Mars (1b) (1M #2) | ||
| 04.02.1961 | Molniya | L1-7V | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Venera (1a) (1VA #1, Sputnik 7) | ||
| 12.02.1961 | Molniya | L1-6V | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Venera 1 (1VA #2, Sputnik 8) | ||
| 25.08.1962 | Molniya | T103-12 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Venera (2a) (2MV-1 #1, Sputnik 19) | ||
| 01.09.1962 | Molniya | T103-13 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Venera (2b) (2MV-1 #2, Sputnik 20) | ||
| 12.09.1962 | Molniya | T103-14 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Venera (2c) (2MV-2 #1, Sputnik 21) | ||
| 24.10.1962 | Molniya | T103-15 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Mars (1c) (2MV-4 #1, Sputnik 22) | ||
| 01.11.1962 | Molniya | T103-16 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Mars 1 (2MV-4 #2, Sputnik 23) | ||
| 04.11.1962 | Molniya | T103-17 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Mars (2a) (2MV-3 #1, Sputnik 24) | ||
| 04.01.1963 | Molniya (E6) | T103-09 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Luna E-6 No.2 Luna (4c) (Ye-6 No.2, Sputnik 25) | ||
| 03.02.1963 | Molniya (E6) | G103-10 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Luna E-6 No.3 Luna (4d) (Ye-6 No.3) | ||
| 02.04.1963 | Molniya (E6) | G103-11 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Luna 4 (Ye-6 No.4) | ||
| 11.11.1963 | Molniya | G15000-017 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Kosmos 21 (Zond (1a)) (3MV-1A #1) | ||
| 19.02.1964 | Molniya (M) | T15000-019 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Zond (1b) (3MV-1A #2) | ||
| 21.03.1964 | Molniya (E6) | T15000-020 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Luna (5a) (Ye-6 No.6) | ||
| 27.03.1964 | Molniya (M) | T15000-022 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Kosmos 27 (Zond (1c)) (3MV-1 #1) | ||
| 02.04.1964 | Molniya (M) | G15000-028 ? | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Zond 1 (3MV-1 #2) | ||
| 20.04.1964 | Molniya (E6) | T15000-021 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Luna (5b) (Ye-6 No.5) | ||
| 04.06.1964 | Molniya | G15000-018 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Molniya-1 (1a) (Molniya-1 2L) | ||
| 22.08.1964 | Molniya | G15000-019 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Kosmos 41 (Molniya-1 (1b)) (Molniya-1 1L) | ||
| 30.11.1964 | Molniya | G15000-029 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Zond 2 (3MV-4 #1) | ||
| 12.03.1965 | Molniya (E6) | G15000-024 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Kosmos 60 (Luna (5c)) (Ye-6 No.9) | ||
| 10.04.1965 | Molniya (E6) | U15000-022 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Luna (5d) (Ye-6 No.8) | ||
| 23.04.1965 | Molniya | U15000-035 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Molniya-1 1 (Molniya-1 3L) | ||
| 09.05.1965 | Molniya (M) | U15000-024 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Luna 5 (Ye-6 No.10) | ||
| 08.06.1965 | Molniya (M) | U15000-033 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Luna 6 (Ye-6 No.7) | ||
| 18.07.1965 | Molniya | U15000-032 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Zond 3 (3MV-4 #2) | ||
| 14.10.1965 | Molniya | U15000-034 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Molniya-1 2 (Molniya-1 4L) | ||
| 12.11.1965 | Molniya (M) | U15000-042 | Baikonur LC-31/6 | Venera 2 (3MV-4 #3) | ||
| 16.11.1965 | Molniya (M) | U15000-031 | Baikonur LC-31/6 | Venera 3 (3MV-3 #1) | ||
| 23.11.1965 | Molniya (M) | U15000-030 | Baikonur LC-31/6 | Kosmos 96 (Venera (4a)) (3MV-4 #4) | ||
| 03.12.1965 | Molniya | U15000-048 | Baikonur LC-31/6 | Luna 8 (Ye-6 No.12) | ||
| 27.03.1966 | Molniya (M) | U15000-040 | Baikonur LC-31/6 | Molniya-1 (3) (Molniya-1 5L) | ||
| 25.04.1966 | Molniya (M) | N15000-037 | Baikonur LC-31/6 | Molniya-1 3 (Molniya-1 6L) | ||
| 20.10.1966 | Molniya (M) | N15000-040 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Molniya-1 4 (Molniya-1 7L) | ||
| 24.05.1967 | Molniya (M) | N15000-041 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Molniya-1 5 (Molniya-1 8L) | ||
| 31.08.1967 | Molniya (M) | N15000-081 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Kosmos 174 (Molniya-1Yu 11L) | ||
| 03.10.1967 | Molniya (M) | Ya15000-083 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Molniya-1 6 (Molniya-1 9L) | ||
| 22.10.1967 | Molniya (M) | Ya15000-084 | Baikonur LC-1/5 | Molniya-1 7 (Molniya-1 12L) |
Web site: Molniya-M Carrier Rocket. РКЦ Прогресс. 7 October 2014.