Molniya 8K78 was a modification of the well-known R-7 Semyorka

R-7 Semyorka

The R-7 was a Soviet missile developed during the Cold War, and the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile. The R-7 made 28 launches between 1957 and 1961, but was never deployed operationally. A derivative, the R-7A, was deployed from 1960 to 1968...

 rocket and had four stages.

This derivative of the original three stage Vostok rocket

Vostok rocket

Vostok was a family of rockets derived from the Soviet R-7 Semyorka ICBM designed for the human spaceflight programme. This family of rockets launched the first artificial satellite and the first manned spacecraft in human history...

 was especially designed to bring high flying satellites into orbit or to launch probes to other planets. The first launch of this rocket was on October 10 in 1960 from Baikonur Cosmodrome

Baikonur Cosmodrome

The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...

. It was used in the 1960s to launch the majority of Soviet space probes to Moon, Mars and Venus.

In the mid 1960s, it was superseded by the modernised Molniya-M

Molniya-M

The Molniya-M , designation 8K78M, was a Russian carrier rocket derived from the R-7 Semyorka ICBM. First launched in 1964, it had replaced its predecessor, Molniya, by the end of 1965...

.

Molniya (Молния) is Russian for 'Lightning'.

Associated Spacecraft: Astron

Astron (spacecraft)

Astron was a Soviet spacecraft launched on 23 March 1983 at 12:45:06 UTC, using Proton launcher, which was designed to fulfill an astrophysics mission. It was based on the Venera spacecraft design and was operational for six years as the largest ultraviolet space telescope during its lifetime...

, Granat

Granat

The International Astrophysical Observatory "GRANAT" , was a Soviet space observatory developed in collaboration with France, Denmark and Bulgaria. It was launched on 1 December 1989 aboard a Proton rocket and placed in a highly eccentric four-day orbit, of which three were devoted to observations...

, Luna Ye-8-5M, Vega 5VK, Venera 4V-1, Venera 4V-2.

See also

• Molniya-M
  Molniya-M
  The Molniya-M , designation 8K78M, was a Russian carrier rocket derived from the R-7 Semyorka ICBM. First launched in 1964, it had replaced its predecessor, Molniya, by the end of 1965...
  
  
• Soyuz launch vehicle
  Soyuz launch vehicle
  Soyuz is a family of expendable launch systems developed by OKB-1, and manufactured by TsSKB-Progress in Samara, Russia. According to the European Space Agency, the Soyuz launch vehicle is the most frequently used and most reliable launch vehicle in the world....
  
  
• Voskhod rocket
  Voskhod rocket
  The Voskhod rocket was a derivative of the Soviet R-7 ICBM designed for the human spaceflight programme but later used for launching Zenit reconnaissance satellites. It combined the R-7 with an upper stage that had been originally designed to launch interplanetary probes.There was only one main...