The Proton is also a Soviet-designed launch vehicle. It is used to transport satellites, spacecraft and space station modules into LEO. Despite troubles with the booster in 1999 and early 2000, the launch of the Zvezda module on 7/12/00 appears to have gone flawlessly...we just won't talk about how late it is.

It is a three-stage rocket. The first (lowest) stage is around 68 feet in length and has six liquid-fuelled rocket motors, producing a total of approximately 1.5 million lbs. of thrust. The first stage burns for approx. 2 minutes and 5 seconds, after which time its engines shut off and it separates to drop away onto the Kazakh plains.

The second stage has four engines, and burns for three-plus minutes, after which it, too, drops off.

The final powered stage is the third stage; this has a single engine (also liquid-fuelled) providing approximately 125,000 lbs of thrust and burning for around 4-5 minutes. When this stage is done, it drops away, leaving the rocket to deploy its payload into orbit.