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Energia super-heavy rocket After canceling the development of the N1 Moon rocket in 1974, the USSR did not give up the goal of building a super-heavy rocket. But, starting with a clean sheet of paper, it took more than a decade for the Soviet engineers to field the Energia rocket, which made the two largely successful flights in 1987 and 1988. The nearly 60-meter vehicle was almost universally acclaimed as the most advanced and powerful rocket of our time. However the disintegration of the USSR in 1991 left Energia to rust in hangars of Baikonur Cosmodrome in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan. Its army of workers and engineers melted away and key technologies, such as super-complex hydrogen engines, went out of production.
A fully assembled Energia rocket with a flight-worthy Buran orbiter (in background) and components of its first stage (in foreground) were mothballed in Baikonur, until the roof collapse of the assembly building destroyed this unique hardware.
Different versions of the Energia rocket:
Base Energia rocket (two booster stages) tech dossier:
Energia development cooperation:
Energia development chronology: 1976 Feb. 17: Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Soviet of Ministers of the USSR issued a combined decree No. 132-51, officially launching the development of the Energia-Buran system. (52) 1976 Dec. 12: The Chief Designer at NPO Energia approves the preliminary design concept of the Energia-Buran system. 1976 Dec. 18: The Military Industrial Commission of the Soviet of Ministers of the USSR finalised the industrial team involved in Energia-Buran development. 1977 July: Concil of Chief Designers and Scientific-Technical Council of the Ministry of the General Mashine Building (NTS MOM) approved the addendum to the prelimanry design of the Energia-Buran system. 1977 Nov. 21: The Soviet government issued a decree detailing major stages and activities in the development of the Energia-Buran system. 1978 March: The industry completed the techninical project for the Energia-Buran development. 1979: A full-scale mockup, designated EUK13, of the Energia rocket is was assembled in the processing building at Site 112 in Baikonur. It included a core stage, a strap-on booster stage and an interface launching platform. 1982 January: Minister of General Mashine Building appointed B. I. Gubanov as a head of Energia-Buran development. 1982 Jan. 6: The first test flight of the VM-T aircraft carrying Energia rocket's hydrogen tank externally. 1982 December: The processing personell in Baikonur conducted experimental assembly of the test version of the Energia rocket designated 4M. 1987 May 15, 21:30 Moscow Time: The first Energia super booster (No. 6SL) lifts off from Site-250 in Baikonur carrying the Polyus/Skif-DM military payload. The rocket performed flawlessly, however, the Polyus spacecraft fired its engines in opposite direction due to a control system problem causing the payload to fall into the ocean.
1988 November 15, 06:00:02 Moscow Time: The Energia super booster carrying an unmanned Buran reusable shuttle blasts off from Baikonur. Two orbits and 206 minutes later, the Buran automatically lands at the Yubileiniy airfield at Site 251 in Baikonur. 1993: The Energia project is discontinued with five vehicles still available, including two at the launch site and remaining at TsSKB Progress in Samara. 2002: Components of the Energia rocket are destroyed in the roof collapse at Site 112 in Baikonur.
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