Soviet Proton rocket. This rocket (lower centre) is an expendable (single use) system for both commercial and Russian government launches. Conceived b

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Soviet Proton rocket. This rocket (lower centre) is an expendable (single use) system for both commercial and Russian government launches. Conceived by the Soviets in the early 1960s as a powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) the Proton rocket, or UR-500, came to be used instead as a mainstay of the USSR's space program. The first launch of the rocket was in 1965 when a two-stage version put a military satellite into space. It has also carried International Space Station modules. Photographed at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Russia.

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Size: 5150px × 3441px
Photo credit: © DETLEV VAN RAVENSWAAY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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