History
In May, 1974 the N1 rocket program is stopped. Mishine is fired by the direction of the study office of OKB-1. A new organization, Energia NPO, is created, directed by the former colleague of Korolev (Glushko), it groups together the 2 research departments of Glushko and Korolev. Although the Soviet citizens spent more than 2.4 billion roubles in the Lunar project they were still far from having a heavy functioning launcher. All the work on the N1 launcher was destroyed and Glushko and Yangel OKB began the development of the Vulkan launcher from scratch. This enormous launcher had to put into orbit elements elaborated for the lunar program LEK (Lunar Expedition Complex).
This new launcher was modified on February 17th, 1976 when Glushko had to take into account the new specifications for the Buran shuttle. These changes led to move the payload from the nose cone to the side of the launcher, and to modify the structure of the boosters around of the central block, as well as other numerous modifications. The Energia launcher was born.
Purpose of the Energia LV
The Energia launcher was not only intended for lifting the Buran space shuttle but to carry different kind of payloads. That's why the main engines are not located on the shuttle. For its first maiden flight it carried the space combat station Polyus on its side. The configuration for the payload for on its side, so it could carry up to 100 tons in LEO, and 32 tons for the Moon and Mars.
On the Soviet side, the advent the Energiya-Buran system is directly to the demise of the Moon rocket in the early From 1969 to 1972, four launch attempts of the N1 The Soviet government then cancelled program in favor of the heavy lift vehicle called Energiya. government assigned this new project the Energiya Scientific Production Organization Energiya).43 Interestingly enough, one significant who worked on both the and the Energiya was Boris who worked on the former its infancy and then served Chief Designer of the Energiya twenty years later.
In May 1974, a large shake-up the Soviet space program took which led to the Buran of the project. Vasiliy Mishin, was the chief designer at influential TsKBEM design bureau, was fired while he was in hospital. TsKBEM merged with Valentin KB EnergoMash bureau to form powerful new Energiya Scientific Production (NPO Energiya). Glushko then took this huge new organization, supervising all Soviet human spacecraft, launch and reconnaissance satellites. Famed Soviet pioneer Sergei Korolev had founded seed of NPO Energiya, but Glushko had even more power. one of his first official the vindictive Glushko signed an suspending all work on the and associated lunar projects. In single stroke, Glushko had cancelled grand plans for space exploration.