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Proton launch vehicle

Proton is a Soviet-developed and Russian-operated heavy-lift expendable launch-vehicle lineage using hypergolic propulsion. The original two-stage UR-500 evolved into the three-stage Proton-K and modernized Proton-M, supporting scientific satellites, space-station modules, planetary spacecraft, government missions, and commercial payloads since 1965.

Proton launch vehicle
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Identity

Aliases
Proton rocket family
Family Name
Proton
Full Name
Proton launch vehicle
Status
active
Type
rocket

Details

Description
Proton is a Soviet-developed and Russian-operated heavy-lift expendable launch-vehicle lineage using hypergolic propulsion. The original two-stage UR-500 evolved into the three-stage Proton-K and modernized Proton-M, supporting scientific satellites, space-station modules, planetary spacecraft, government missions, and commercial payloads since 1965.
First Flight Year
1,965
Operator
Propulsion Configurations
  • Entries
    • Nested value
    • Nested value
    • Nested value
    • Nested value
    Name
    Proton-K
    Notes
    Exact three-stage 8K82K Proton-K family branch. Block-D, Block-DM, and Briz-M fourth-stage variants are intentionally omitted because their distinct upper-stage systems are not part of this configuration.
  • Entries
    • Nested value
    • Nested value
    • Nested value
    • Nested value
    Name
    Proton-M
    Notes
    Exact three-stage 8K82KM Proton-M family branch. Briz-M, Block-DM, and other fourth-stage variants are intentionally omitted because their distinct upper-stage systems are not part of this configuration.
Rocket Specs
Reusability
expendable

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Creation Time
April 26, 2026 at 15:54:05 UTC
Updated Time
August 1, 2026 at 10:37:44 UTC

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Proton launch vehicle - AeroVia