- This article deals only with preparations for manned flight to the Moon by the USSR. For information about the unmanned spacecraft sent to the Moon by the USSR see Luna programme
The Luna programme , occasionally called Lunik or Lunnik, was a series of robotic spacecraft missions sent to the Moon by the Soviet Union between 1959 and 1976. Fifteen were successful, each designed as either an orbiter or lander, and accomplished many firsts in space exploration...
.
The
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
competed with the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to be the first to land a man on the Moon in the 1960s. The
Soviet Moonshot program ultimately consisted of two separate manned programs: a lunar flyby program using a
UR-500K (Proton)Proton is an expendable launch system used for both commercial and Russian government space launches. The first Proton rocket was launched in 1965 and the launch system is still in use as of 2009, which makes it one of the most successful heavy boosters in the history of spaceflight...
/
L1 (Zond)The Soyuz 7K-L1 spacecraft was designed to launch men from the Earth to circle the Moon without going into lunar orbit in the context of the Soviet manned moon-flyby program in Moon race. It was based on the Soyuz 7K-OK with several components stripped out to reduce the vehicle weight...
combination, and a lunar landing program using a N1 /
L3The Soyuz 7K-L3 LOK was designed to launch men from Earth to circle the moon and developed in parallel to the 7K-L1. The LOK -Lunniy Orbitalny Korabl would carry two cosmonauts into orbit around the Moon, acting as "mother" spacecraft for the LK Lander, which would land one member of the crew to...
combination. Following the dual success of the American
Project ApolloNASA's Apollo Program landed the first humans on Earth's moon. US President John F. Kennedy announced his support for a manned moon landing on May 25, 1961, as part of a special address to a joint session of Congress:...
with the first Moon flyby of 1968 (
Apollo 8Apollo 8 was the first human spaceflight mission to achieve a velocity sufficient to allow escape from the gravitational field of planet Earth; the first to be captured by and escape from the gravitational field of another celestial body; and the first crewed voyage to return to planet Earth from...
) and the first Moon landing of 1969 (
Apollo 11The Apollo 11 mission was the first human spaceflight to land on the Moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Mission Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr...
), both of the Soviet counterpart programs eventually ceased: the Proton / Zond program was cancelled in 1970, and the N1 / L3 program was cancelled de-facto in 1974 and officially in 1976. Their materials and personnel were transferred to other programs. All details of both Soviet programs were kept heavily secret until the arrival of
glasnostwas the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of 1980s....
allowed them to be published in 1990.
Early concepts
Although the Soviet leadership had made public pronouncements about landing a man on the
MoonThe Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is , about thirty times the diameter of the Earth. The common centre of mass of the system is located at about —a quarter the Earth's...
and establishing a lunar base as early as 1961, there was no apparent active planning. Sergei Korolyov was more interested in launching a heavy orbital station
TOS-General:* Terms of Service* TOSLINK a standardized optical fibre connection system.* TOS - Truck Operating System a standardized production system of Mercedes-Benz* T.O.S...
and in manned flights to Mars and Venus by
TMKTMK was the designation of a Soviet Union space exploration project to send a manned flight to Mars and Venus without landing....
that would be assembled from modules launched one at a time. For this aim Korolyov began the development of the super-heavy N-1 rocket with a 75 ton payload.
In its preliminary Moon plans, Korolyov's design bureau initially promoted in 1962 the
SoyuzSoyuz ; English: Union) is a series of spacecraft designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolyov Design Bureau. The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraft and was originally built as part of the Soviet Manned Lunar program...
A-B-C circumlunar complexSergei Korolev initially promoted the Soyuz A-B-V circumlunar complex concept in which a two-man craft Soyuz-A 7K would rendezvous with other components in Earth orbit to assemble a lunar excursion vehicle, the components being delivered by the proven R-7 rocket...
concept under which in 1965 a two-man spacecraft would rendezvous with other components in Earth orbit to assemble a lunar flyby excursion vehicle, the components being delivered by the proven middle
R-7The R-7 Semyorka was the world's first true intercontinental ballistic missile and was deployed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War from 1959 to 1968. To the West it was known by the NATO reporting name SS-6 Sapwood and within the Soviet Union by the GRAU index 8K71...
rocket. After developing the N1 beginning in 1963 Korolyov began to plan a Moon landing mission using two launches and docking. Later Korolyov managed to increase the payload of the N1 to 92-93 tons (by increasing the number of engines in its first stage from 24 to 30), providing enough power to accomplish the mission with a single launch.
Another main space design bureau headed by
Vladimir ChelomeiVladimir Nikolayevich Chelomey was a Soviet mechanics scientist and rocket engineer.-Early life:Chelomey was born in Siedlce, Russian Empire into a Ukrainian family...
proposed a competing cislunar orbiting mission using a heavy UR-500K rocket (later renamed the
Proton rocketProton is an expendable launch system used for both commercial and Russian government space launches. The first Proton rocket was launched in 1965 and the launch system is still in use as of 2009, which makes it one of the most successful heavy boosters in the history of spaceflight...
) and a two-man LK-1 spacecraft. Later, Chelomei also proposed a Moon landing program with a super-heavy UR-700 rocket and a LK-700(LK-3) spacecraft.
The Soviet government decided to answer the American Apollo challenge after delaying three years. According to the first government decree about the Soviet Manned moon programs ('
On Work on the Exploration of the Moon and Mastery of Space '), adopted in August 1964, Chelomei was instructed to develop a Moon flyby program with a projected first flight by the end of 1966, and Korolyov was instructed to develop the Moon landing program with a first flight by the end of 1967.
Following a change in the makeup of the Soviet government leadership, the Soviet government in September 1965 assigned the flyby program to Korolyov, who redesigned the cislunar mission to use his own L1 (Zond) spacecraft and Chelomei's Proton rocket.
Korolyov organized a full scale development under both programs, but died after surgery in 1966. According to a government decree of February 1967, the first manned flyby was scheduled for the summer of 1967, and the first manned landing for the end of 1968. However, Korolyov's death, various technical and administrative reasons, and a lack of financial support resulted in both programs being delayed.
Launch schedules
As of 1967, the L1/L3 launch schedules were:
L1
- 2P -Develop Block D stage -Feb or Mar 67
- 3P -Develop Block D stage -Mar 67
- 4L -Unmanned lunar flyby -May 67
- 5L -Unmanned lunar flyby -Jun 67
- 6L -Manned lunar flyby -Jun or Jul 67
- 7L -Manned lunar flybys -Aug 67
- 8L -Manned lunar flybys -Aug 67
- 9L -Manned lunar flybys -Sep 67
- 10L -Manned lunar flybys -Sep 67
- 11L -Manned lunar flybys -Oct 67
- 12L -Manned lunar flybys -Oct 67
- 13L -Reserve spacecraft
L3
- 3L -Develop LV & Blocks G&D -Sep 67
- 4L -Reserve
- 5L -LOK/LK unmanned -Dec 67
- 6L -LOK/LK unmanned -Feb 68
- 7L -Manned LOK/unmanned LK -Apr 68
- 8L -Manned LOK/unmanned LK -Jun 68
- 9L -Piloted LOK/unmanned LK with LK landing on Moon -Aug 68
- 10L -First men land on moon -Sep 68
- 11L -Reserve
- 12L -Reserve
Cosmonauts
In 1966 two cosmonaut training groups were formed.
One group was commanded by Vladimir Komarov and included
Yuri GagarinYuri Alekseyevich Gagarin , Hero of the Soviet Union, was a Soviet cosmonaut. On 12 April 1961, he became the first human in outer space and the first to orbit the Earth...
, and was to prepare for qualification flights of the Soyuz in Earth orbit and a Proton launched cis-lunar mission (Gagarin, Nikolayev, Komarov, Bykovskiy, Khrunov; Engineer-Cosmonauts: Gorbatko, Grechko, Sevastyanov, Kubasov, Volkov).
The second group was led by Alexei Leonov and concentrated on the landing mission (Commanders: Leonov, Popovich, Belyayev, Volynov, Klimuk; Engineer-cosmonauts: Makarov, Voronov, Rukavishnikov, Artyukhin). As a result, Leonov has the strongest claim to have been the Soviets' first choice for first man on the moon.
After Komarov's death in
Soyuz 1Soyuz 1 was a manned spaceflight of the Soviet space program. Launched into orbit on April 23, 1967 carrying cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov, Soyuz 1 was the first flight of the Soyuz spacecraft. Komarov was killed when the spacecraft crashed during its return to Earth after a mission beset...
in 1967, Gagarin was taken out of training and the groups were restructured. Despite the Soyuz 1 setback, the Soviets successfully rehearsed the automated docking of two unmanned Soyuz craft in Earth orbit in 1968 and with the manned
Soyuz 4Soyuz 4 was launched on January 14, 1969. On board was cosmonaut Vladimir Shatalov on his first flight. The aim of the mission was to dock with Soyuz 5, transfer two crew members from that spacecraft, and return to Earth. The last three Soyuz flights had attempted this but all had failed for...
and
Soyuz 5Soyuz 5 was a Soyuz spacecraft launched by the Soviet Union on January 15, 1969, which docked with Soyuz 4 in orbit. It was the first-ever docking of two manned spacecraft, and the first-ever transfer of crew from one space vehicle to another, the only time a transfer was accomplished with a space...
joint mission in early 1969 tested the other key mission elements.
A total of 18 missions were related to the N1-L3 project. For details, see the table at the bottom of the article.
Moon flyby UR-500K(Proton)Proton is an expendable launch system used for both commercial and Russian government space launches. The first Proton rocket was launched in 1965 and the launch system is still in use as of 2009, which makes it one of the most successful heavy boosters in the history of spaceflight...
/L1(Zond)The Soyuz 7K-L1 spacecraft was designed to launch men from the Earth to circle the Moon without going into lunar orbit in the context of the Soviet manned moon-flyby program in Moon race. It was based on the Soyuz 7K-OK with several components stripped out to reduce the vehicle weight...
program
Launched by 3-staged Proton rocket, the L1(Zond) was a spacecraft from
Soyuz familySoyuz is Russian for "Union", and was often used as an abbreviation for the "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" during the Communist era. In English, the term is left untranslated in the names of several Soviet-related concepts...
and consists from two of three modified modules of main craft
Soyuz 7K-OKThe manned Soyuz spacecraft can be classified into design generations. Soyuz 1 through Soyuz 11 were first-generation vehicles, carrying a crew of up to three without spacesuits and distinguished from those following by their bent solar panels and their use of the Igla automatic docking navigation...
with total weight of 5,5 ton. Apollo orbital spacecraft (command ship) for Moon flyby also had two modules (command and service ones) but was five times heavier, carried a crew of three and entered Moon orbit whereas L1(Zond) loop flight around Moon and recovered only. Planned for 8 December 1968 for priority over US a first manned mission of L1(Zond) was cancelled due to unsufficient readiness of craft and rocket. After
Apollo 8Apollo 8 was the first human spaceflight mission to achieve a velocity sufficient to allow escape from the gravitational field of planet Earth; the first to be captured by and escape from the gravitational field of another celestial body; and the first crewed voyage to return to planet Earth from...
won the first (Moon-flyby) phase of Moon Race in the end of 1968, and Soviet leadership lost the political interest for L1(Zond) program. Few reserved units of L1(Zond) made unpiloted flights until end of 1970 when this program was closed.
Moon landing N1/L3The Soyuz 7K-L3 LOK was designed to launch men from Earth to circle the moon and developed in parallel to the 7K-L1. The LOK -Lunniy Orbitalny Korabl would carry two cosmonauts into orbit around the Moon, acting as "mother" spacecraft for the LK Lander, which would land one member of the crew to...
program
The final plan for a manned landing adopted the same method of single launch and
lunar orbit rendezvousLunar orbit rendezvous is a key concept for human landing on the Moon and returning back to Earth.In an LOR mission a main spacecraft and a smaller lunar module travel together into lunar orbit. The lunar module then independently descends to the lunar surface. After completion of the mission...
as in Apollo project, but had differences in some details and technical data. Despite the fact that the planned Soviet Moon expedition was carried at a single launch like Apollo, for a safety of the mission, some two to three weeks before the manned mision, an unmanned 'L3 complex' and two automated moonrovers Lunokhod would be sent to the Moon. They worked as radio-beacons, with the LK being used as reserve 'escape' craft to return from the Moon, and the lunokhods were additionally equipped with manual controls for the cosmonauts.
Three-staged N1 rocket carried
L3 Moon expedition complex that consists of two spacecraft (LOK and LK) and two (Block G and
Block DBlock D is the upper stage of USSR/Russia heavy expendable launch systems, used for the N1 rocket, Proton rocket and Zenit rocket. There were plans to use it for some other rockets as well ....
) boosters.
A variant of the Soyuz craft, the
"Lunniy Orbitalny Korabl" (LOK) command ship, carried two men, and was formed with three modules like main craft Soyuz 7K-OK, but was heavier by a few tons. 7K-OK was more than 2 times lighter than three-man Apollo orbital craft (command ship).
"Lunniy Korabl" (LK) carried one cosmonaut, so in the Soviet expedition one cosmonaut alone would land on Moon, while in Apollo two would. Weight of LK 2.5 times less than Apollo moon lander.
Total weight of L3 complex orbited by N1 for
LEOA low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
was 93 ton compared to
Saturn VThe Saturn V was a multistage liquid-fuel expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. In total NASA launched thirteen Saturn V rockets with no loss of payload. It remains the largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever brought to operational status from a...
- 137 ton. Total weight of LOK and LK was 2,5 times less than full Apollo complex, but was equivalent to the L3 complex without Block G. The booster for the LEO towards the Moon for the Apollo vehicle was provided by the last stage of Saturn V, while for the Block D, LOK and LK, this was to be provided by Block G of the same L3 complex.
During the L3 complex's journey to the Moon, there was no need to undock and redock of orbital and landing crafts as in Apollo, because the cosmonauts would transfer from LOK to LK by a 'spacewalk', while in Apollo this operation was executed by an internal passage.
Block D slowed the LOK and LK into lunar orbit, while in the Apollo complex this phase was undertaken by firing the engine on the service module (the Apollo complex travelled with the Command Module and Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) facing back towards the earth)to slow the complex and enter moon orbit.
Once in orbit, the LK with Block D would separate from LOK and descend towards the surface of Moon using the Block D's engine. After Block D exhausted its fuel, the LK was to separate and complete landing using its own engine.
On the Moon, the cosmonaut would undertake moonwalks on foot and by lunokhods, collecting rocks and hoist the Soviet flag. If the lone cosmonaut was unable to return to LK due to any reason, a special tether connected him to LK (and could haul him in?).
After a few hours on the lunar surface, the LK's engine would fire again using its landing structure as a launch pad (as with Apollo). To save weight, the engine used for landing would also blast the LK back to lunar orbit for an automated docking with the LOK. The cosmonaut then would spacewalk back to the LOK carrying the moon rock samples, with the LK being cast off. After this, the LOK would fire its rocket for the return to Earth.
After the US with
Apollo 11The Apollo 11 mission was the first human spaceflight to land on the Moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Mission Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr...
won the final (Moon-landing) phase and the whole of Moon Race in 1969, the justification for the Soviet moon landing programme reduced, although developments and tests continued until the early 1970s. In 1970-1971 the LK was completely ready after 3 unmanned test flights on LEO, and the LOK was launched once. The
KrechetThe Krechet is a space suit model developed for lunar excursion during the Soviet manned lunar program. It was designed by NPP Zvezda...
lunar spacesuit and other support systems was tested. But four N-1 test launches were attempted but all were failures, despite engineering improvements after each crash. The second launch attempt on 3 July 1969, just 13 days prior to the launch of
Apollo 11The Apollo 11 mission was the first human spaceflight to land on the Moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Mission Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr...
, was a catastrophic failure which destroyed both the rocket and the launch complex, and this delayed the N1-L3 program for two years more. If a planned fifth test in autumn 1974 and following tests of N1 were successful, a few Soviet manned N1-L3 missions would have been launched in 1976-1980. To gain technical and scientifical interest in the program, the modified multi-launched N1F-L3M mission (with significantly more time spent on the moon's surface than with Apollo) and later Moonbase and a new 'Vulkan-Zvezda', 'Vulkan-LEK' projects were proposed, but not adopted for economic reasons. As some recompense and as a replacement for manned landing program, the Soviets fulfilled a programme of automated delivery of lunar soil and automated moonrovers Lunokhods.
Soviet manned space efforts subsequently concentrated on the development of space stations and on several design and ground preparatory processes for a Mars mission, which continues to the present day, but has unclear objectives. The launch pad and MIK of N1 was redesigned for
Energia-Buran shuttle programBuran may refer to:* Buran , a Soviet space shuttle**Buran program, which developed the spacecraft* Buran , a wind which blows across eastern Asia* Buran cruise missile, a Soviet cruise missile...
. One replica of the LK now stands in
Disneyland Resort ParisDisneyland Paris is a holiday and recreation resort in Marne-la-Vallée, a new town in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. The complex is located from the centre of Paris and lies for the most part on the territory of the commune of Chessy....
, with other units being kept in the designer's and producer's company museums.
See also
- Moon Race
- First on the Moon
First on the Moon is a Russian mockumentary about a 1930s Soviet landing on the Moon. The film, which went on to win many awards, was the debut of the director Aleksey Fedorchenko....
- a Russian mockumentaryMockumentary or mock documentary is a genre of film and television, or a single work of the genre. Although a mockumentary may be one of the comedy genres, serious mockumentaries also exist. The mockumentary is presented as a documentary recording real life, but is actually fictional. It is a...
- Soviet space program conspiracy accusations
The Lost Cosmonauts, or Phantom Cosmonauts, are cosmonauts who allegedly entered outer space, but whose existence has never been acknowledged by either the Soviet or Russian space authorities....
- Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space
Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space, frequently abbreviated BARIS, is a space simulation and strategy game for MS-DOS. The player takes the role of Administrator of NASA or head of the Soviet space program with the ultimate goal of being the first side to conduct a successful manned moon landing...
External links