Energia launch vehicle - Development history and main achievement

The superheavy-class launch vehicle Energia has been designed as an integral part of the Energia-Buran Reusable Space System in Russia. The Buran spacecraft is a reusable orbiter launched by the Energia vehicle. During the design activities, and prior to the commencement of flight tests, the Energia-Buran system was referred to as the 'Buran Reusable Space System'. The history of the development of the Energia launch vehicle is discussed in detail in this paper; the period covered is from the early 1970s to the late 1980s. The development of the Energia involved the pooling of efforts of numerous design offices, research institutes, enterprises, military, and other organizations throughout the former U.S.S.R. The wide experience gained from developing a launch vehicle of this type can be effectively employed both in designing new vehicles and in other engineering areas. (AIAA)