Energia Energia LV Family Credit - © Mark Wade In May 1974 the N1 moon rocket program was cancelled. Mishin was removed as head of Korolev's OKB-1 design bueau. A new organisation, NPO Energia, headed by Korolev's old nemesis, Glushko, combined both Glushko and Korolev's bureaux. A total of 2.4 billion roubles was spent on the N1 program. Those on the project felt that they were within months of finally providing the Soviet Union with a heavy-lift booster. Instead the work was discarded, and Glushko together with the Yangel OKB began design of the Vulkan launch vehicle with an entirely new configuration and engines. This huge booster was to launch the components of the elaborate moon base LEK (lunar expeditionary complex). The new launch vehicle was itself revised on 17 February 1976 when Glushko was directed to modify Vulkan to the Energia configuration to accommodate the Buran space plane (based on US Space Shuttle). This entailed moving the upper stages from the usual in-line top-mounted position to the side-mounted position used by the space shuttle. Thirteen years and another 14.5 billion roubles later, the Energia and Buran flew, only to be cancelled with the breakup of the Soviet Union. The Zenit launch vehicle, produced in the Ukraine, was eventually purchased by Boeing's Sea Launch consortium for launches from the Pacific Ocean. The engines developed for the Energia are to be used in the new Angara launch vehicle. RLA-120 This medium booster concept was proposed by Glushko in 1974. It was part of the RLA (Rocket Flight Apparatus) family of modular, lox/kerosene powered vehicles designed...more. RLA-135 This heavyweight booster concept was proposed by Glushko in 1974. It was part of the RLA (Rocket Flight Apparatus) family of modular, lox/kerosene powered vehicles...more. RLA-150 This super-booster concept was proposed by Glushko in 1974. It was part of the RLA (Rocket Flight Apparatus) family of modular, lox/kerosene powered vehicles designed...more. Vulkan Original version of Energia with in-line upper stages and payloads. Developed 1974-1976; cancelled when Energia / Buran development begun. Yangel-buillt strap-ons ultimately derived from R-56 of 1961....more. Kvant The Kvant was the Soviet third generation light launch vehicle planned to replace the Kosmos and Tsyklon series. Unlike the vehicles it was to replace, the booster...more. Zenit-2 Zenit was to be a modular new generation medium Soviet launch vehicle, replacing the various ICBM-derived launch vehicles in use since the 1960's (Tsyklon and R-7...more. Energia The Energia-Buran Reusable Space System (MKS) was began development in 1976 as a Soviet system that would duplicate the capabilities of the US shuttle system. Following...more.   Groza Variant of the Energia launch vehicle with two strap-on boosters instead of four. This would have fullfilled the 50 tonne payload requirement had the third generation...more. Buran-T Fully recoverable version of Energia launch vehicle, with four winged boosters and a winged core stage....more. Energia M Launch vehicle originally designed in the 1980's to fullfill the third generation 20-30 tonnes to orbit launcher requirement. It was an adaptation of the Energia...more. Kvant-1 From 1996-2001 RSC Energia carried out design studies on the Kvant-1 light launch vehicle with a low earth orbit payload capability of 1.8 to 3.0 metric tons. Market...more. Angara 1.1 The Angara is a new all-Russian heavy launch vehicle to replace the Zenit (built by a Ukrainian company) and Proton (only launch pads on Kazakh territory). The...more. Angara 1.2 First planned upgrade of Angara, the 1.2 version would use a new Block I lox/kerosene upper stage....more. Angara 3A The Angara 3A is a proposed variant of the modular launch vehicle that would use two universal rocket modules (URM's) as boosters flanking one URM in the core, with a Lox/Kerosene upper stage....more. Angara 5A The Angara 5A is a proposed variant of the modular launch vehicle that would use four universal rocket modules (URM's) as boosters surrounding one URM in the core, with a Lox/LH2 upper stage....more. Zenit-3SL From the beginning of the program a Zenit-3 version was proposed for geosynchronous launches using the N1/Proton Block D third stage. This had the potential of...more.   Sodruzhestvo Joint Kazakh-Russian-Ukrainian project announced in 2000 to produce an 'ecologically safe' replacement of the Proton booster that would use Energia launch facilities...more. KSLV-I 2002 In 2002 South Korea announced it was planning to develop a small satellite launch vehicle by 2005, based on technology flown on the KSR-III test vehicle. By 2005...more. Mayak New family of modular medium-sized launch vehicles proposed by the Ukraine in 2005. No known development or production funding was forthcoming....more. KSLV-I In 2005 it was announced that the KSLV-I would not fly until 2007. It was now a completely different vehicle, consisting of a first stage derived from the Russian...more. KSLV-II South Korean launch vehicle, originally scheduled for first flight by 2010. Evidently it would have consisted of a Russian Angara first stage and a South Korean...more. KSLV-III South Korean launch vehicle, to consist of a Russian Angara first stage, a South Korean liquid propellant second stage, and a South Korean solid propellant apogee...more.                   Contact us with any corrections, additions, or comments. Conditions for use of drawings, pictures, or other materials from this site.. To contact astronauts or cosmonauts. © Mark Wade, 1997 - 2007 except where otherwise noted.

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