Vehicle file · LV-184
Molniya 8K78
Molniya 8K78 is an expendable orbital launch vehicle built by Strategic Rocket Forces. It stands 43.4 m tall, lifts 1,900 kg to low Earth orbit, first flew on 10 October 1960. It has flown 40 times with 20 successes, a success rate of 50.0%. It has no flight on the public manifest at the moment.
Specification
Vehicle spec sheet
Flight record
Reliability
About Molniya 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.
Upcoming flights
Manifest
No Molniya 8K78 flight is filed in the current manifest window. Missions appear here the moment a launch date is published.
All upcoming launchesCommon questions
- How many times has Molniya 8K78 flown?
- Molniya 8K78 has flown 40 orbital missions, with 20 successes and 20 failures.
- What is Molniya 8K78's success rate?
- Molniya 8K78 has a success rate of 50.0%, from 20 successful flights out of 40 attempts.
- When is the next Molniya 8K78 launch?
- Molniya 8K78 has no flight on the public manifest at the moment. Scheduled missions appear here as soon as a launch date is filed.
- How much can Molniya 8K78 lift to orbit?
- Molniya 8K78 is rated for 1,900 kg to low Earth orbit. These are the operator's published maximums and assume an expendable or fully optimised configuration.
- Is Molniya 8K78 reusable?
- No. Molniya 8K78 is expendable: every stage is discarded during flight and nothing is recovered for reflight.