Molniya Launch History
Every orbital and deep-space launch attempt by the Molniya family, year by year, drawn from the GCAT launch catalog.
Data current as of 2026-07-20.
Molniya made 320 orbital and deep-space launch attempts between 1960 and 2010. Of those, 287 succeeded and 33 failed. The success rate comes to 90 percent. The busiest year was 1985, with 16 flights. The most recent flight in the catalog was in 2010.
320
Launch attempts
287
Successes
33
Failures
90%
Success rate
Launches per year
Successes
Failures
Each bar links to that year's full chronology.
Year by year
| Year | Attempts | Successes | Failures | Success rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100% |
| 2008 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100% |
| 2007 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100% |
| 2006 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100% |
| 2005 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0% |
| 2004 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100% |
| 2003 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 100% |
| 2002 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 100% |
| 2001 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 100% |
| 1999 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 100% |
| 1998 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 100% |
| 1997 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 100% |
| 1996 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 100% |
| 1995 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 100% |
| 1994 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 100% |
| 1993 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 100% |
| 1992 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 100% |
| 1991 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% |
| 1990 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 92% |
| 1989 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% |
| 1988 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 100% |
| 1987 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 100% |
| 1986 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 93% |
| 1985 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 100% |
| 1984 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 100% |
| 1983 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 100% |
| 1982 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 91% |
| 1981 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 100% |
| 1980 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 83% |
| 1979 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 100% |
| 1978 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 100% |
| 1977 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 100% |
| 1976 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 82% |
| 1975 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 100% |
| 1974 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 100% |
| 1973 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 100% |
| 1972 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 91% |
| 1971 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 100% |
| 1970 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 86% |
| 1969 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 100% |
| 1968 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% |
| 1967 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 86% |
| 1966 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 78% |
| 1965 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 75% |
| 1964 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 38% |
| 1963 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 25% |
| 1962 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% |
| 1961 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50% |
| 1960 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0% |
Variants
Counts for each Molniya variant recorded in GCAT, at LV_TYPE granularity. Variants with their own page are linked.
| Variant | Flights | Successes | Failures | First year | Last year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Molniya 8K78M | 272 | 259 | 13 | 1965 | 2010 |
| Molniya 8K78 | 40 | 20 | 20 | 1960 | 1967 |
| Molniya 8K78M-PVB | 8 | 8 | 0 | 1990 | 1992 |
Recent launches
The most recent Molniya family launches, newest first.
| Date | Designator | Payloads | Vehicle | Site / Pad | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2010 | 2010-049 | 78041 -699 052 : Oko 73D6 No. 6071 | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC16/2 | Success |
| Dec 2, 2008 | 2008-062 | 77046 -693 050 : Oko 73D6 No. 6070 | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC16/2 | Success |
| Oct 23, 2007 | 2007-049 | 77046 -692 049 : Oko 73D6 No. 6069 | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC16/2 | Success |
| Jul 21, 2006 | 2006-030 | 78036 -691 048 : Oko 73D6 No. 6068 | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC16/2 | Success |
| Jun 21, 2005 | 2005-F01 | 77046 -694 051 : Molniya-3K No. 12L | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC16/2 | Failure |
| Feb 18, 2004 | 2004-005 | 76092 -690 047 : Molniya-1T No. 100L | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC16/2 | Success |
| Jun 19, 2003 | 2003-029 | 77082 -689 046 : Molniya-3 No. 65L | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC16/2 | Success |
| Apr 2, 2003 | 2003-011 | 78029 -684 041 : Molniya-1T No. 101L | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC16/2 | Success |
| Dec 24, 2002 | 2002-059 | 77045 -685 042 : Oko 73D6 No. 6039 | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC16/2 | Success |
| Apr 1, 2002 | 2002-017 | 78054 -688 045 : Oko 73D6 No. 6064 | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC16/2 | Success |
| Oct 25, 2001 | 2001-050 | 77013 -687 044 : Molniya-3 No. 64L | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC43/3 | Success |
| Jul 20, 2001 | 2001-030 | 77045 -686 043 : Molniya-3K No. 11L | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC43/4 | Success |
| Dec 27, 1999 | 1999-073 | 77017 -681 : Oko 73D6 No. 6053 | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC16/2 | Success |
| Jul 8, 1999 | 1999-036 | 78051 -677 : Molniya-3 No. 63L | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC43/3 | Success |
| Sep 28, 1998 | 1998-054 | Kh15000-030 : Molniya-1T No. 99L | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC43/3 | Success |
| Jul 1, 1998 | 1998-040 | 77017 -682 : Molniya-3 No. 61 | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC43/3 | Success |
| May 7, 1998 | 1998-027 | 78051 -676 : Oko 73D6 No. 6067 | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC16/2 | Success |
| Sep 24, 1997 | 1997-054 | 78051 -678 : Molniya-1T No. 98L | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC43/3 | Success |
| May 14, 1997 | 1997-022 | 77031 -673 : Oko 73D6 No. 6065 | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC43/4 | Success |
| Apr 9, 1997 | 1997-015 | 76032 -647 : Oko 73D6 No. 6066 | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC16/2 | Success |
| Oct 24, 1996 | 1996-060 | 78012 -645 : Molniya-3 No. 62 | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC43/4 | Success |
| Aug 29, 1996 | 1996-050 | 76047 -680 : SO-M2 No. 2513, S2-A, Microsatelite | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC43/3 | Success |
| Aug 14, 1996 | 1996-045 | 77031 -675 : Molniya-1T No. 96L | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC43/3 | Success |
| Dec 28, 1995 | 1995-072 | V 15000-040 : Skipper No. 1320, IRS-1C | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-5 / LC31 | Success |
| Aug 9, 1995 | 1995-042 | 77031 -674 : Molniya-3 No. 59 | Molniya 8K78M | GIK-1 / LC43/3 | Success |
Showing the latest 25 of 320 launches.