# Energia

> Soviet launch vehicle

**Wikidata**: [Q731859](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q731859)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energia_(rocket))  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/energia

## Summary

Energia was a Soviet project.

## Summary
Energia is a Soviet-era super-heavy launch vehicle developed in the 1980s that stood 60 m tall and could deliver about 100 t to low-Earth orbit.  
Designed by the S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, it served as the booster for the Buran reusable orbiter and remains the most powerful rocket ever successfully launched by the USSR or Russia.

## Key Facts
- Height: 60 m; core diameter: 7.7 m
- Country of origin: Soviet Union
- Manufacturer: S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia
- GRAU index: 11К25
- Part of the Energia-Buran launch system and the broader Buran programme
- Sub-class of: launch vehicle
- Wikidata sitelinks: 34 across 17 languages
- Commons category: Energia (rocket)
- Freebase ID: /m/09dm5
- Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID: topic/Energia-Soviet-launch-vehicle

## FAQs
### Q: What was Energia used for?
A: Energia was the heavy-lift launcher for the Soviet Buran space shuttle, making two flights—one carrying the Polyus test payload and the second carrying the unpiloted Buran orbiter in 1988.

### Q: How powerful was Energia compared with other rockets?
A: With a low-Earth-orbit capacity of roughly 100 t, Energia out-lifted every Soviet or Russian launcher before or since, placing it in the same super-heavy class as the U.S. Saturn V.

### Q: Is Energia still in service?
A: No. After the Buran programme ended in the early 1990s, Energia was retired; no additional units were built or launched.

### Q: What does the name “Energia” mean?
A: “Energia” (Энергия) is Russian for “Energy,” reflecting the rocket’s high-thrust, high-energy design.

## Why It Matters
Energia represented the Soviet Union’s answer to the U.S. Space Shuttle and the Saturn V, combining shuttle-like reusability with heavy-lift capability. Its successful 1988 flight with Buran proved that the USSR could build and operate a super-heavy, liquid-fueled launcher with four strap-on boosters and a hydrogen-fueled core stage—technologies that remain state-of-the-art. Although the programme was cancelled for budgetary reasons after the Cold War, Energia’s engineering solutions, such as its modular core and high-efficiency engines, influenced later Russian rocket designs and continue to inform studies of future heavy-lift vehicles. For historians and engineers, Energia is a case study in how geopolitical competition can accelerate technological leaps—and how quickly those advances can be lost without sustained investment.

## Notable For
- Most powerful Soviet/Russian rocket ever flown
- Only rocket to launch an autonomous space shuttle (Buran) on its maiden flight
- Used environmentally benign liquid oxygen/kerosene and liquid hydrogen propellants instead of toxic hypergolics common on earlier Soviet boosters
- Modular architecture allowed core stage to be flown with or without strap-on boosters, pre-dating modern “flexible” heavy-lift concepts
- Still holds Russian payload-to-orbit record set in 1988

## Body
### Development & Design
Energia emerged from the Soviet decision in 1976 to match the U.S. Shuttle with a reusable orbiter. Rather than scaling up an existing ICBM-derived design, engineers at Energia NPO (now RKK Energia) created a new 60 m launcher built around a 7.7 m-diameter hydrogen-fueled core stage flanked by four kerosene-fueled strap-on boosters. This layout delivered roughly 100 t to low-Earth orbit, exceeding the capacity of the Proton rocket by a factor of four.

### Technical Specifications
- Overall length: 60 m
- Core diameter: 7.7 m
- Propellants: liquid hydrogen + liquid oxygen (core); kerosene + liquid oxygen (boosters)
- Manufacturer: S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia
- GRAU military index: 11К25

### Operational History
Energia flew twice from Baikonur Cosmodrome:
1. 15 May 1987 – carried the Polyus orbital weapons platform testbed (mission failed to reach working orbit due to attitude-control error)
2. 15 Nov 1988 – launched the unpiloted Buran orbiter, completing the Soviet shuttle’s only spaceflight and demonstrating automated landing

### Cancellation & Legacy
With the end of the Cold War and funding cuts, the Buran programme was terminated in the early 1990s. No further Energia vehicles were assembled, and the unique launch infrastructure at Baikonur was mothballed. Nonetheless, Energia remains a benchmark for Russian heavy-lift design studies and a reminder of the heights Soviet space technology once achieved.

## References

1. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
2. [Source](https://www.energia.ru/english/energia/launchers/vehicle_energia-c.html)