Luna-8

Overview

Destination: Lunar Orbit
Mission: Lunar Exploration

Lunar Orbit 31/6 Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Ye-6 series probe designed to land on the Moon. Spun out of control during the final parts of the descent, resulting in the spacecraft impacting the lunar surface on December 6.

Molniya 8K78

Family: Molniya
Configuration: 8K78

The Molniya 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.

Specifications
  • Stages
    4
  • Length
    43.44 m
  • Diameter
    3.0 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    305 T
  • Thrust
    813 kN
Family
  • Name
    Molniya 8K78
  • Family
    Molniya
  • Variant
    8K78
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Molniya 8K78
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
    1900 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Strategic Rocket Forces

Circle Image
Founded: 1959 Successes: 12 Failures: 3 Pending: 0

Agency Type: Government

The Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation are a separate-troops branch of the Russian Armed Forces that control Russia's land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

WIKI

Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

31/6


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