Energia version
Energia Energia-Buran (1K)
The configuration with the Buran shuttle mounted on the side of the stack. Its single flight, on 15 November 1988, was the first in which the payload reached orbit: Buran flew uncrewed and landed automatically.
- November 15, 1988
- First launch
- 100,000 kg
- LEO capacity
- No
- Reusable
History
A rocket for a shuttle
Work on the Energia/Buran system began in 1976 after the decision to cancel the N1; the facilities and infrastructure built for that rocket were reused for this one. Energia was designed specifically to launch the reusable Soviet shuttle Buran, which is why it carries its payload on the side of the stack rather than on top as is usual.
The flight of 15 November 1988
Energia's second launch, and the first in which the payload actually reached orbit, took place on 15 November 1988 with the uncrewed Buran. The vehicle completed its mission and returned on an automatic landing, something no American shuttle ever did without a pilot.
The end
With the Buran programme wound up in the late 1980s — and definitively with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 — Energia production ended. Since 2016 there have been attempts to revive the launcher.