Operational features of rocket R-11 allowed to expand its applications for research. Of a particular interest was its application for geophysical observations in the Earth's areas to which, e. g. to the polar regions of the USSR, the delivery of previously designed rockets was impossible.
Rocket R-11A was provided with a special payload fairing protecting the container from heat exposure and aerodynamic loads in flight and a special transfer compartment to attach the container, accommodate a pneumatic separation system, switching equipment, and an attenuation system. Rocket R-11A has been designed to take measurements of atmospheric pressure at different altitudes from 60 to 160 km, define optical properties of upper atmospheric layers, measure concentration of positive ions, record a number of the container collisions with micrometeorites.
Rocket P-11A was first launched from the Novaya Zemlya in October 1958. The rocket reached an altitude of 103 km.