Energia Buran

11K25

Mission Profile

Energia (11K25) was the Soviet Union's most powerful rocket, developed as the launch vehicle for the Buran space shuttle program and one of only two vehicles ever to surpass the Saturn V in payload capacity. Standing 58.8 m tall with a 7.7 m diameter and a liftoff mass of 2,400 tonnes, its two-stage configuration generated 34,840 kN of thrust from four RD-170-powered strap-on boosters and delivered up to 30,000 kg to low Earth orbit. Energia flew only twice — carrying the Polyus spacecraft in 1987 and the Buran orbiter on its sole uncrewed test flight in November 1988 — before Soviet funding collapse ended the program.