LK-700
Manufacturer | OKB-52 |
---|---|
Country of origin | Soviet Union |
Operator | Soviet space program |
Applications | Land cosmonauts on the Moon and bring them back to Earth |
Production | |
Status | Canceled |
Related spacecraft | |
Derived from | LK-1 |
Derivatives | TKS spacecraft |
LK-700 was a Soviet direct ascent lunar lander program proposed in 1964.[1] It was developed by Vladimir Chelomey as an alternative to the N1-L3 program. It was also a further development of the LK-1 lunar flyby spacecraft.
It would have been launched using the proposed UR-700[2] rocket (related to the Proton rocket) with a crew of three cosmonauts on a direct flight to the lunar surface and back. The direct landing approach would allow the Soviets to land anywhere on the moon's nearside.[3] The program was canceled in 1974.
Mission profile
Uncrewed flights would be followed by crewed flights. The proposed schedule was:
- May 1972: First UR-700/LK-700 uncrewed launch. Subsequent launches in November 1972 and April 1973.
- April 1973: First crewed UR-700/LK-700 launch. Subsequent flights in August and October 1973.
Following initial LK-700 landings, the more ambitious Lunar Expeditionary Complex (LKE) would be delivered to the surface in three UR-700 launches:
- Launch 1: lunar station to enable a six-month stay
- Launch 2: LK-700 with crew
- Launch 3: large rover
Characteristics
- Crew size: 3
- Orbital storage: 45 days
- Spacecraft delta v: 9,061 m/s
- Gross mass: 154,000 kg
- Height: 21.20 m
- Span: 2.70 m
- Thrust: 131.40 kN
- Specific impulse: 326 s
References
- v
- t
- e
ascent/upper stages
- N1 rocket
- Proton rocket
- Blok E
- Blok D
![LK spacecraft](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/LK_ascent_from_Moon_drawing.png/110px-LK_ascent_from_Moon_drawing.png)
- LK-1
- VA spacecraft
- LK-700
- Zond (Soyuz 7K-L1)
- Zond-M (Soyuz 7K-L1S)
- Zond-LOK (Soyuz 7K-L1E)
- LOK (Soyuz 7K-L3)
- LK (spacecraft)
lunar flyby missions