The Soviet / Russian space program was in the hands of three industrial empires: those of Serguei Korolev, the Soviet von Braun who launched Sputnik-1 and Yuri Gagarin, Vladimir Tchelomei, his main competitor, and Mikhail Yangel, Many launchers and satellites in Ukraine.In 2011, we published a first book on the history of the Soyuz launcher that was developed by Korolev and launched more than 1,800 copies. This time, we tell the story of the Proton, the main competitor of the European launcher Ariane, which was developed by Chelomei and launched more than 400 copies. Finally, the last book of the trilogy will deal with the many developments of Yangel. In the three books, the first part deals with the history of rockets in the USSR / Russia (East) and the second part on the history of their commercialization in the West.

The Soviet / Russian space program was in the hands of three industrial empires: those of Serguei Korolev, the Soviet von Braun who launched Sputnik-1 and Yuri Gagarin, Vladimir Tchelomei, his main competitor, and Mikhail Yangel, Many launchers and satellites in Ukraine.In 2011, we published a first book on the history of the Soyuz launcher that was developed by Korolev and launched more than 1,800 copies. This time, we tell the story of the Proton, the main competitor of the European launcher Ariane, which was developed by Chelomei and launched more than 400 copies. Finally, the last book of the trilogy will deal with the many developments of Yangel. In the three books, the first part deals with the history of rockets in the USSR / Russia (East) and the second part on the history of their commercialization in the West.

Foreword ixPreface xiPart 1 The Proton in the East 1Chapter 1 Vladimir Chelomey: From the V1 to Proton 31.1 The Soviet V-1 designer 51.2 The designer of Soviet naval missiles 13Chapter 2 Chelomey's Subsidiaries 292.1 Institute no. 642 292.2 Myasishchev's OKB-23 312.3 Factory no. 23 in Fili 422.4 Lavochkin's OKB-301 472.5 Factory no. 292 in Saratov 492.6 Factory no. 47 in Orenburg 502.7 The engine designers 51Chapter 3 Intercontinental Missiles, Booster Rockets and Satellites 613.1 Kosmoplan and Raketoplan 653.2 The UR-200 673.3 The UR-500 803.4 The UR-100 883.5 The UR-700 963.6 The UR-1000 101Chapter 4 Versions of the UR-500 1034.1 The two-stage version 1034.2 The three-stage version UR-500K 1154.3 The four-stage version 1174.4 The upper stage projects 1234.5 The UR-500MK 1254.6 The UR-530 1264.7 The Proton-M 1274.8 Proton medium and light 1304.9 Angara 131Chapter 5 The Uses of the Proton 1395.1 NPO Mashinostroyenie: the Almaz program 1395.2 RKK Energiya 1515.2.1 The 7K-L1 program 1515.2.2 The DOS program 1535.3 NPO Lavochkin 1625.3.1 The Luna program 1625.3.2 The Mars program 1675.3.3 The Venera program 1745.3.4 Scientific probes 1765.3.5 The Oko early warning satellites 1775.3.6 The Araks/Arkon optical imaging satellites 1805.4 Applied mechanics NPO 1815.4.1 Telecommunications satellites 1815.4.2 The Glonass navigation satellites 1875.5 Other satellites 1885.6 The centennial celebration of V. N. Chelomey's birth 189Part 2 The Proton in the West 197Chapter 6 Saturn's Rival 1996.1 Records to break 2016.2 Target: Moon 2046.3 Under a shroud of secrecy 2096.4 No second place 217Chapter 7 Commercial Prehistory 2217.1 Swiss francs for invisible launchers 2247.2 Curtain raiser 2267.3 Regime change 2297.4 A market to be cornered 2327.5 The American friend 2367.6 Short-lived contracts and seduction operations 2397.7 The end of an era 243Chapter 8 Friends or Foes 2478.1 First hope for success 2488.2 Lockheed joins the fray 2538.3 Voyage to Moscow 2568.4 Telephony in the sky 2608.5 Khrunichev, Salyut and Energiya 2638.6 The Indian obstacle 2668.7 Detour through France 2678.8 First steps on the market 270Chapter 9 The Transatlantic Alliance 2759.1 Reduced quotas 2779.2 Baptism of fire 2799.3 A "Russified" Atlas 2849.4 Discrete success and a spectacular failure 2869.5 Keeping pace with Ariane 2899.6 Energiya's game 2949.7 Opening up to the market 297Chapter 10 Standing the Test of the Market 30110.1 Transition 30610.2 Price war 31110.3 Divorce 31610.4 Challenges for the future 31910.5 A surprising rival 32410.6 From Proton to Angara 327Appendix 331Bibliography 357Index 367Index of Names 369