Energia (rocket)

Energia
Энергия

Energia perspective free render with multiple angles and human (1.76 m) for scale.
Function	Human-rated multi-purpose super heavy-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	NPO "Energia"
Country of origin	Soviet Union
Size
Height	58.765 m (192.80 ft)[1]
Diameter	17.65 m (57.9 ft)[1]
Mass	2,400,000 kg (5,300,000 lb)
Stages	2
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	100,000 kg (220,000 lb)[2]
Payload to GSO
Mass	20,000 kg (44,000 lb)[2]
Payload to TLI
Mass	32,000 kg (71,000 lb)[2]
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Baikonur
Total launches	2
Success(es)	2
Failure(s)	0
First flight	15 May 1987
Last flight	15 November 1988
Boosters – Zenit
No. boosters	4
Height	39.46 m (129.5 ft)[1]
Diameter	3.92 m (12.9 ft)[1]
Powered by	1 RD-170
Maximum thrust	29,000 kN (6,500,000 lbf) sea level 32,000 kN (7,200,000 lbf) vacuum
Specific impulse	309 s (3.03 km/s) at sea level 338 s (3.31 km/s) in vacuum
Burn time	156 s
Propellant	RP-1/LOX
Core stage
Height	58.765 m (192.80 ft)[1]
Diameter	7.75 m (25.4 ft)[1]
Powered by	4 RD-0120
Maximum thrust	5,800 kN (1,300,000 lbf) sea level 7,500 kN (1,700,000 lbf) vacuum
Specific impulse	359 s (3.52 km/s) at sea level 454 s (4.45 km/s) in vacuum
Burn time	480–500 s
Propellant	LH2/LOX
[edit on Wikidata]

Energia (Russian: Энергия, romanized: Energiya, lit. 'Energy'; GRAU 11K25) was a 1980s super-heavy lift launch vehicle. It was designed by NPO Energia of the Soviet Union as part of the Buran program for a variety of payloads including the Buran spacecraft. Control system main developer enterprise was the Khartron NPO "Electropribor".^[3][4] The Energia used four strap-on boosters each powered by a four-chamber RD-170 engine burning kerosene/LOX, and a central core stage with four single-chamber RD-0120 (11D122) engines fueled by liquid hydrogen/LOX.^[5]

The launch vehicle had two functionally different operational variants: Energia-Polyus, the initial test configuration, in which the Polyus system was used as a final stage intended to put the payload into orbit, and Energia-Buran,^[6] in which the Buran orbiter was the payload and the source of the orbit insertion impulse.

The launch vehicle had the capacity to place about 100 tonnes in Low Earth orbit, up to 20 tonnes to geostationary orbit and up to 32 tonnes by translunar trajectory into lunar orbit.^[2]

The launch vehicle made just two flights before being discontinued.^[7][6] Since 2016, there have been attempts to revive the launch vehicle, reusing an updated version of its booster engine in the Soyuz-5 rocket.