Luna (rocket)

Luna 8K72

Blok E upper stage, with Luna payload
Function	Carrier rocket
Manufacturer	RKK Energia
Country of origin	Soviet Union
Size
Mass	277,000 kg (611,000 lb)
Stages	3
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	4,000 kilograms (8,800 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	R-7
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Baikonur: LC-1/5
Total launches	9
Success(es)	3
Type of passengers/cargo	Luna probes
First stage – Block B, V, G, D
Powered by	1 RD-107-8D74-1958
Maximum thrust	990.00 kN
Burn time	120 seconds
Propellant	Kerosene/LOX
Second stage – Block A
Powered by	1 RD-108-8D75-1958
Maximum thrust	936.500 kN
Burn time	320 seconds
Propellant	RP-1/LOX
Third stage – Block E
Powered by	1 RD-0105
Maximum thrust	49.0 kN
Burn time	316 seconds
Propellant	Kerosene/LOX
[edit on Wikidata]

The Luna 8K72 vehicles were carrier rockets used by the Soviet Union for nine space probe launch attempts in the Luna programme between 23 September 1958 and 16 April 1960.^[1] Like many other Soviet launchers of that era, the Luna 8K72 vehicles were derived from the R-7 Semyorka design, part of the R-7 (rocket family), which was also the basis for the Vostok and modern Soyuz rocket.

The 8K72 was the first R-7 variant explicitly designed as a carrier rocket and it incorporated a few features that became standard on all later R-7 carrier rockets including thicker tank walls to support the weight of upper stages and the AVD malfunction detection system, which would terminate engine thrust if the booster's operating parameters (engine performance, electrical power, or flight trajectory) deviated from normal.