Head to head

Molniya 8K78 vs Tsiklon-3

Two vehicles in the same payload class. Every figure below comes from the same two sources for both rockets, and a row appears only when both publish the input.

Payload to low Earth orbit

Relative

Molniya 8K78: 1,900 kg

Tsiklon-3: 4,100 kg

Side by side

8 comparable figures

The highlighted value wins the row. Rows where neither direction is better, like length or stage count, highlight nothing.

Metric	Molniya 8K78	Tsiklon-3
Flights flown	40	122
Success rate	50%	94.3%
Payload to LEO (kg)	1,900	4,100
Liftoff thrust (kN)	813	2,713
Length (m)	43.44	39.27
Diameter (m)	3	3
Launch mass (t)	305	189
Stages	4	3

Molniya 8K78

Flight record

50% success rate20 of 40 flown · 20 failed

1960peak 1965 · 11 flights1967

Maiden flight 1960-10-10. Retired.

Tsiklon-3

Flight record

94.3% success rate115 of 122 flown · 7 failed

1977peak 1985 · 12 flights2009

Maiden flight 1977-06-24. Retired.

Molniya 8K78 is built by Strategic Rocket Forces of Russia.Tsiklon-3 is built by Yuzhnoye Design Bureau of Ukraine.

Full specifications and the complete launch history for each: Molniya 8K78 · Tsiklon-3.

Specifications from Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs, launch records from Space Index. Derived figures are computed here; see sources and method.