Molniya-M

For other uses, see Molniya (disambiguation).

Molniya-M (R-7 8K78M)

Drawing of the Molniya-M carrier rocket
Function	Medium carrier rocket
Manufacturer	TsSKB-Progress
Country of origin	Russia/Soviet Union
Size
Height	43.4 m (142.3 ft)
Diameter	2.95 m (9.67 ft)
Mass	305,000 kg (672,000 lb)
Stages	3
Associated rockets
Family	R-7
Comparable	Soyuz-2/Fregat
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Baikonur LC-1 / LC-31 Plesetsk LC-16, LC-41, LC-43
Total launches	297
Successes	276
Failures	21
Maiden flight	19 February 1964
Last flight	30 September 2010

The Molniya-M (Russian: Молния, meaning "lightning"), designation 8K78M, was a Russian (previously Soviet) carrier rocket derived from the R-7 Semyorka ICBM. First launched in 1964, it had replaced its predecessor, Molniya, by the end of 1965. It made 297 launches and experienced 21 failures, the last of which occurred on 21 June 2005 when a third stage malfunction prevented its payload, a Molniya-3K communications satellite from reaching orbit.^[1] The final flight of a Molniya-M was conducted on 30 September 2010. It will be replaced by the Soyuz-2/Fregat.^[2]

For most of its operational life, the Molniya-M was used to launch its namesake Molniya and also Oko satellites into Molniya orbits, orbits of high eccentricity that allow satellites to dwell over polar regions.

Variants

There were four main variants of the Molniya-M, which varied in terms of their upper stage. Originally, the Block L stage was used, however uprated versions replaced this with more powerful, or specialised, stages, for different missions. The Molniya-M/2BL, used to launch Oko missile defence spacecraft, had a Block 2BL upper stage, The Molniya-M/ML had a Block ML upper stage, and the Molniya-M/SO-L had a Block SO-L stage.

Retirement

The Molniya-M/ML was scheduled to be the last variant to fly, with two launches of Molniya spacecraft scheduled to occur in 2008, however they were cancelled in light of the launch failure in 2005, in favour of the Meridian spacecraft. The Molniya-M was believed to have been retired on 23 October 2007 after launching an Oko spacecraft, however this later proved to have been incorrect, when a Molniya-M was used to launch another Oko satellite on 2 December 2008.^[3] Following a launch on 30 September 2010, the Russian Space Forces confirmed that it had been retired from service.^[2]

References

1. ^ Russian Space Web - Soyuz
2. ^ ^{a b} Mu, Xuequan (1 October 2010). "Russia sends military satellite into space". Xinhua. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-10/01/c_13537937.htm. Retrieved 30 September 2010. 
3. ^ "Molnia-M carrier lifts off from Plesetsk with military satellite.". ITAR-TASS. 2008-12-02. http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=13331590&PageNum=0. Retrieved 2008-12-02.