Proton-K (UR-500K, 8K82K) + Zond (7K-L1)

Historical information

The Proton-K, also designated Proton 8K82K after its GRAU index, 8K82K, was a russian, previously soviet, carrier rocket derived from the earlier Proton.

The maiden flight on 10 March 1967 carried a Soyuz 7K-L1 as part of the Zond program. During the so-called "Moon Race" these Proton/Soyuz/Zond flights consisted of several uncrewed test flights of Soyuz spacecraft to highly elliptical or circumlunar orbits with the unrealized aim of landing soviet cosmonauts on the Moon.

It was retired from service in favour of the modernised Proton-M, making its 311th and final launch on 30 March 2012.

Zond ("Probe") was the name given to two distinct series of soviet unmanned space program undertaken from 1964 to 1970. The first series based on 3MV planetary probe was intended to gather information about nearby planets. The second series of test spacecraft being a precursor to manned circumlunar loop flights used a stripped-down variant of Soyuz spacecraft, consisting of the service and descent modules, but lacking the orbital module.