Since 2016, there have been attempts to revive the launch vehicle. == Development history == Work on the Energia/Buran system began in 1976 after the decision was made to cancel the unsuccessful N1 rocket.
It was designed to replace the Proton rocket, but lost a 1993 competition to the Angara rocket. A non-functional prototype ("structural test vehicle") of the Energia M still exists in a seemingly abandoned hangar at Baikonur Cosmodrome. ===Energia II (Uragan)=== Energia II, named Uragan (Ураган, Hurricane), was a rocket design proposed in the late 1980s to be fully reusable with the capability to land on a conventional airfield.
The legacy of Energia/Buran project manifests itself most visibly in form of the RD-170 family of rocket engines, and the Zenit launcher, with the first stage roughly the same as one of the Energia first-stage boosters. == Launch history == === First launch (Energia–Polyus) === The Energia was first test-launched on 15 May 1987, with the Polyus spacecraft as the payload.
Instead, the Polyus reentered the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. === Second launch (Energia–Buran) === The second flight, and the first one where payload successfully reached orbit, was launched on 15 November 1988.
With eight Zenit booster rockets and an Energia-M core as the upper stage, the "Vulkan" (which was the same name of another Soviet heavy lift rocket that was cancelled years earlier) or "Hercules" (which is the same name designated to the N-1 rockets) configuration was initially projected to launch up to 175 tonnes into orbit. The development of rocket-carrier "Vulcan" and the refurbishment of the "Energia" launch pad for its launches was in progress in 1990–1993.
It was designed to replace the Proton rocket, but lost a 1993 competition to the Angara rocket. A non-functional prototype ("structural test vehicle") of the Energia M still exists in a seemingly abandoned hangar at Baikonur Cosmodrome. ===Energia II (Uragan)=== Energia II, named Uragan (Ураган, Hurricane), was a rocket design proposed in the late 1980s to be fully reusable with the capability to land on a conventional airfield.
Since 2016, there have been attempts to revive the launch vehicle. == Development history == Work on the Energia/Buran system began in 1976 after the decision was made to cancel the unsuccessful N1 rocket.
The RD-181, based on the RD-191, is used on the Antares rocket. In August 2016, plans were announced to develop a super heavy-lift launch vehicle from existing Energia components instead of pushing the less-powerful Angara A5V project.
While the Energia is no longer in production, the Zenit boosters were in use until 2017.
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