Molniya Scientific Production Association (NPO)

Nauchno-proizvodstvennoe ob'edinenie "Molniya"

Contact Information
Address: 123459, Moscow, Novoposelkovaya str., 6
Telephone: (095) 493-50-53 (General Director) 493-33-35, 492-91-45, 493-92-44; 492-77-75 (Deputy Chief Designer); 492-94-86 (Chief Designer); 493-13-42, 497-13-95 and 492-83-31 (Chief, Heat Processes Division)
Fax: (095) 492-9371 [1]
Telephone/Fax: (095) 497-5930 (Public Relations Center)
Teletype: 113289 GNEZDO Activity: design of aerospace systems and aircraft
Status: open joint-stock company (OAO)
Subordination: --
Former Subordination: Ministry of the Aviation Industry of USSR Background

The Kalashnikov Group of Companies (GC) handed over the Molniya Scientific and Production Association (NPO), which developed the Buran spacecraft, to the Tactical Missile Armament Corporation (KTRV). This was reported to journalists on 27 July 2021 in the press service of "Kalashnikov". "NPO Molniya" was transferred to KTRV as part of the consolidation of assets involved in the implementation of the scientific and production potential of rocketry," the press service informed. As noted in the GC, NPO Molniya has been part of Kalashnikov since September 2018. "During the management of the asset, we managed to halve the company's debt, as well as double its revenue. The actions taken allowed us to prevent the bankruptcy of Molnia and bring the company out of the crisis. As a result, the company was able to continue its activities and start working on new developments." noted in the press service.

The transfer of the Molniya Scientific and Production Association (NPO) from the Kalashnikov Group of Companies (part of Rostec) to the Tactical Missile Armament Corporation (KTRV) will significantly strengthen the company's position in the space technology market. This opinion was expressed in an interview 27 July 2021 with TASS by a military expert, development director of the Fund for Assistance to Technologies of the XXI Century Ivan Konovalov. "The transfer of Molnia to KTRV, which also deals with rocketry, will significantly strengthen the company's position on the market. KTRV has a developed space cluster, which will facilitate the integration of NGOs into the structure of the corporation," Konovalov said.

According to him, the transfer of "Lightning" to KTRV continues the trend of creating vertical profile holdings in the Russian defense-industrial complex. "It was this policy that at one time made it possible to preserve the competencies of the defense industry and increase them," the expert added. As Konovalov noted, the stable financial position of the KTRV in the world arms market will also contribute to the development of Molniya. "KTRV is the world's largest specialized consolidated manufacturer of missile weapons, which ranks high in the ranking of the 100 largest defense enterprises in the world according to Defense News. This will allow the corporation to support Molniya and integrate it into production cooperation," Konovalov said.

The Kalashnikov Group's policy aimed at developing Molniya has borne fruit, the expert said. “As a result, it was possible to avoid the bankruptcy of the NGO. Moreover, the enterprise significantly increased its revenue,” Konovalov summed up. Earlier, the press service of Kalashnikov announced the transfer of the NGO Molniya to the KTRV. NPO Molniya is the developer of the Soviet orbital space shuttle Buran, as well as one of the largest Russian manufacturers of target missiles.

NPO Molniya [not to be confused with UNPP Molniya and SKB Molniya] was at one time on of Russia's largest spacecraft production enterprises, and was involved in the Buran space shuttle program in the Soviet era. At present the enterprise is included in the structure of the concern "Aviation Equipment" of the State Corporation "Rostekhnologii". It was previously involved in guided weapons projects, and also designed the then-secret Spiral spaceplane project in the early 1970's. Molniya Scientific Production Association had been established in 1976 with a special purpose of development of the Buran reusable orbital spaceship [2].

It was reportedly created by merger of the design bureau of the Tushino Machine-Building Plant with OKB Burevestnik and some other design companies. According to different sources, NPO also included companies, which are now known as Raduga Design Bureau and V.M.Myasishchev Experimental Machine-building Plant. The companies and groups, included into NPO, had backgrund in development of Air-to-Air missiles and Air-to-Surface missiles. The only space-related group was a subdivision of Mikoyan OKB, headed by Lozino-Lozinskiy, who led the project of Spiral aviation and rocket system at Mikoyan's OKB-155 in 1960s.

Main Activities

• Theoretical and experimental studies of aerodynamic and thermal loads influencing spacecraft in the outer space;
• perfection of thermal resistance of heat shields in high-temperature gas flows;
• theoretical analysis and experimental verification of structures under conditions of static, vibrodynamic, shock and thermal loading;
• development of methods and algorythms for solution of tasks in ballistics, navigation and control of aerospace vehicles, including their landing in an automatic mode;
• production of experimental prototypes of developed designs
• development of new materials for perspective systems of heat shielding;
• design and production of "hot structures" of aerospace systems based on metallic and non-metallic materials [2]

Branch: : Aircraft and space vehicles; SIC Code: 3761 [1]

Projects participated

• Buran space shuttle. NPO itself was established for develpment and production of orbiter vehicles for Buran system, the Soviet analog to the U.S. Space Shuttle. Since 1976 till late 1980s or early 1990s Molniya worked on development, assembly and testing of frameworks for Buran orbiters. The Molniya research and production association was established in 1976 to create the first manned space shuttle in Russia to be reusable. With the growth of space transportation, the need for such a vehicle was dictated by the need for a drastic reduction in the cost of launches. The time when the payload for the orbit was paid any price has already passed, missile technicians around the world began to count money, and their customers could no longer tolerate the fact that ultra-expensive electronic systems and rocket engines are destroyed as a result of a single launch. The development of reusable launch systems was a logical step in the development of technology, and in the 1970s the United States began work on the Space Shuttle system, and in the Soviet Union on the Buran.
• in a framework of Buran program Molniya also developed a number of Bor experimental vehicles, launched in 1980s along ballistic trajectories and into orbit. Bor vehicles were used to explore aerodynamic loads and measuring of structural loads as well as tesing on heat shielding materials. Several of these vehicle (Bor-3, Bor-4) employed some design solutions developed earlier for Spiral project, while Bor-5 was the scale model of Buran orbiter)
• in early 1990s, when the Buran program was "mothballed", Molniya proposed a new "Multi-purpose Aero-Space System" (Mnogotselevaya aviatsionno-kosmicheskaya systema or MAKS), which remains a focus of company's space-related activity.

MAKS project After development of An-225 Mria super-heavy cargo aircraft, intended for transportation of elements of Energia/Buran system on its exterior, the MAKS project was proposed. The project is based on use of An-225 as a carrier aircraft, from which a reusable orbiter coupled with an external tank could be launched at a height of 8-9 kilometers and a speed of 800-900 km/h. It is claimed, that given the carrying capacity of An-225 of 275 tons, MAKS orbiter could orbit up to 9 tons of payload. The development of the Draft Design was supported by the Ministry of Defense and the State Committee on Defense Branches of Industry, but further development is deterred by lack of financing (Russian Space Agency does not support the project, considering it untimely)

Other projects include a reusable 2-stage suborbital global passenger system with horizontal takeoff and landing

In addition to space projects Molniya also develops target missiles, being the leading company in this area.

Organizational Structure

NPO Molniya consists of a number of Complexes:

• Project and Theoretical
• Design
• Production
• of Experimental ground testing and
• support services

Test Facilities/Production capabilities

Molniya possesses facilities for development and qualification testing of full-scale articles, their inierfaces, structural elements, materials and equipment in simulated conditions and environments. There are

• Cryogenic and thermal-vacuum Complex;
• laboratory for Tribological testing ( for testing of friction units in ground and space conditions);
• complex of laboratories for electromagnetic compatibility testing;
• complex of equipment for durability testing (This includes a hall for static testing capable of handling an object with a size of 50 x 30 x 15 meters and a hall of dynamic testing for objects with a size of up to 10 x 6 x 6 meters and a mass of up to 30 tons)
• Complex of climatic facilities for environmental testing
  (See performance details in [2] or mail a request for information)

Production facilities of Molniya allow to produce carbon/carbon composites and heat shielding tiles

Economic status

In 1996 the Government allocated 10 billions rubles (equivalent to about $2.1 millions) for the 1st quarter of the year for supporting experimental and testing base in operational status and keeping company's capabilities and personnel [5].

Employment: 5000 as of 1992 [1]; 3500 as of 1995

Membership/Shareholding

The state retains 25.5% of Molniya's stock.

Molniya reportedly has a share in the "Russian Credit" Bank (although it seems more likely, that it is the Bank, which holds some share of Molniya's stock)

Industry Cooperation

• Energia RSC
• Kosmoflot company
• NPO mashinostroyenia
• Khrunichev GKNPTs
• Makeyev KB
• TsAGI
• Yuzhnoe KB and O.K.Antonov ANTK (Ukraine) [2]

International Cooperation

• DARA, DASA, ERNO, MAN, MBB - in Germany
• Aerospatiale, CNES, Dassault Aviation, SEP - in France [2]

Conversion/Diversification

Molniya is developing designs for subsonic aircraft ranging from small small "taxi-airplanes" to ultra-heavy transports (payload capacity from 500 kg to 500 tons. Its designs include: 6-seat aircraft ("Molniya-1"), a twin-engine 6-seat passenger aircraft a 15-seat twin engine plane ("Molniya-2") as well as a large transport aircraft ("Hercules"). Molniya-1 was launched into production at Sokol aviation plant (Nizhniy Novgorod)

Molniya, along with the Moscow Aviation Institute and several Bulgarian electronics firms, has founded the Scientific-Industrial Center "Informatika" to facilitate the incorporation of space-sector electronics in civilian products [1].

name of the project	Project Content
Steam propulsion system for city buses (prototype development)	A fundamentally new direction in the development of domestic motor industry for motor vehicles, engine management systems (start, work, stop) and other bus units related to the remote control. Sale of steam engines in the buses will begin two years after the production and development of prototypes.
Two-engine six-seat amphibian aircraft "Ladoga-6A"	The aircraft is designed for passenger, medical, freight, administrative and business flights, border, search and rescue, nature protection activities, tourism, etc. The aircraft sits and takes off from land and water, swamped and snow-covered territories, does not require stationary airfields. Can fly to hard-to-reach, low-bore areas, remote to 1,350 km, operated in all regions of Russia and the World to 75 about the northern latitude. Return on the project within three years from the beginning of the batch production or five years from the beginning of the investment, i.e. for the period 1999-2003.
Single-engine six-seat aircraft "Molniya-1"	Creation of a single-engine six-seat Molniya-1 with a takeoff weight of 1,740 kg with a payload of up to 505 kg and a flight range of up to 500 km. The aircraft can be manufactured in the following variants: passenger (6 seats with pilot), transport, sanitary, administrative with wheeled and ski chassis. The aircraft can be used for patrolling along forest tracts, pipelines, roads, etc .; delivery of specialists and cargo to the place of forest fires, road accidents, etc .; mail delivery, etc. Return on the project for three years from the beginning of mass production
High-altitude automated parking MAC-251 and its modifications	On the basis of the pilot project (site MIBC "Moscow City" site 15), a project is being created for the modular design of a mechanized parking lot for cars of any class. At a section of 14.2x7 meters, up to 60 cars are installed. The cost of parking is from 9.6 to 12.5 thousand dollars, depending on the performance. Return on investment is one year, in the future profit is up to 6% for 25-40 years.
The simulator is an attraction "Free flight"	A highly profitable entertainment attraction of a new generation is created for places of mass entertainment. Simultaneously, during a small commercial load, the attraction is used as a simulator for training paratroopers of various departments. The need for such a simulator is experienced by the Airborne Forces, the Air Force, the FSB, the GRU, forest fire paratroopers, sports parachute organizations of the regions and major cities of Russia and CIS countries. For the first time in the capital will be implemented entertainment complex, which simulates the free manning in the air without any mechanical devices. Two years after the start of investment, the profit will be 800,000 dollars a year

Recent Activity

Rostec's plans to quickly dispose of the "no-use" NPO was to get rid of the headache and sell the land with building to be torn down. But, judging by the news from overseas (the beginning of tests in the US of the reusable spacecraft Dream Chaser), Russia must do something. An urgent political decision was needed to ensure Russian interests in the literal sense at the highest level. First of all, at NPO Molniya, there is still something to be saved.

By August 2012 NPO Molniya design bureau and the Myasischev Experimental Factory (EMZ) were designing a space-plane for sub-orbital "space tourism" and small satellite launch flights. The sub-orbital craft will be launched from a subsonic carrier aircraft such as the existing high-altitude Myasischev M-55 Geofizika or 3M-T transport aircraft. The 3-MT, a derivative of the Myasischev M-4 bomber which first flew in the 1950's, was used in the Buran space shuttle program in the 1980's to carry the orbiter as well as the Energiya carrier rocket.

The winged space-plane will take off from the launch aircraft and climb at 1,000-1,200 meters a second to 105-120 km altitude - at the edge of space - under power of a solid-fuel rocket motor. "Space tourists will experience weightlessness for three to five minutes and can see the surface of the earth through portholes. After entry into the dense layers of the atmosphere, the spaceplane will make a landing on an aerodrome," the NPO Molniya document says. The number of passengers carried will be from four to 14, dependent on the type of carrier aircraft.

Russia's NPO Molniya space design bureau was designing a future hypersonic pilotless booster designated Hammer, capable of putting satellites into orbit, according to documents obtained by RIA Novosti. "The first stage of the project has been designed for the internal and external configuration of the Hammer hypersonic pilotless booster. It will be capable of carrying small satellites of up to 800 kg into orbits from 200-500 km," the documents say.

The NPO Molniya document says the craft got the name Hammer because "the nose section, seen from above, looks like a hammerhead shark." The new craft is based on existing and emerging technology, the designers' documents say, including the AL-31F turbofan engines used in the Su-27 series of fighter aircraft. The orbital stage is likely to be an 18-ton two-stage rocket booster powered by an engine based the RD-0124 series rocket motor. The second-stage will be based on a single-chamber engine based on the RD-0124. The 74-ton craft will climb to altitude, carry out a special maneuver in which the orbital section with its satellite will separate, and then the main craft will return to its airbase.

In March 2018, the Russian defense manufacturing concern Kalashnikov agreed with State Corporation Rostec to acquire 60 percent of the shares of the Molniya research and production association, which developed the first-ever Soviet space shuttle Buran. "The cost of the deal, which was actively supported by the government, has yet to be disclosed. The sale of the company's blocking stake to a private investor should help Molniya overcome the crisis and participate in the creation of a new space shuttle in the future," Kommersant reported.

Kalashnikov head Alexey Krivoruchko said that "Molniya's entry in the group will give impetus to the development of competence and expertise related to the development of reusable spacecraft and the production of target missiles for various purposes." He stressed that Molniya's potential along with the Kalashnikov Concern's production capacities will help "develop fundamentally new guidelines of activity".

The companies are also designing a variant of the air-launch system for placing small satellites in low-earch orbit, with a satellite and booster carried in the spaceplane's passenger compartment.