NPO MOLNIYA’S MAKS

Even as the newly created NPO Molniya got down to Buran development in 1976, the Mikoyan bureau contingent in the organization seemingly had a hard time parting with the air-launched Spiral concept. In fact, one NPO Molniya veteran recalls that

Lozino-Lozinskiy was never overly enthusiastic about Buran, which had been forced upon him from above, and that his real passion remained with air-launched systems [3]. Realizing that one of the major drawbacks of Spiral had been the need to develop a futuristic hypersonic aircraft, the Mikoyan designers began drawing up plans for spaceplanes launched from existing subsonic transport planes. The aim was to expand their missions beyond military reconnaissance and offensive operations to satellite deployment/retrieval and space station support. Unlike Buran, such space – planes would be suited to launch payloads usually orbited by expendable launch vehicles and had many other advantages such as quicker turnaround, more launch flexibility, and a wider range of attainable orbits. The new air-launched concept benefited heavily from experience gained in the Spiral, BOR, and Buran programs.