Back N1 AN Н-1 Bulgarian N-1 (coet soviètic) Catalan N-1 Czech Nositel-1 Danish N1 (Rakete) German N1 Esperanto N-1 (cohete) Spanish N1 Estonian N1 Finnish
&sq=NATO&lang=en&file=File:N1_1M1_mockup_on_the_launch_pad_at_the_Baikonur_Cosmodrome_in_late_1967.jpg) Mockup at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in late 1967 | |
| Function | Crewed lunar launch vehicle/Super heavy-lift launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | OKB-1 |
| Country of origin | USSR |
| Size | |
| Height | 105.3 meters (345 ft)[1] |
| Diameter | 17.0 meters (55.8 ft)[2] |
| Mass | 2,750 tonnes (6,060,000 lb) |
| Stages | 5 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | |
| Mass | 95 t (209,000 lb)[2] |
| Payload to TLI | |
| Mass | 23.5 t (52,000 lb) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Cancelled |
| Launch sites | LC-110, Baikonur |
| Total launches | 4 |
| Success(es) | 0 |
| Failure(s) | 4 |
| First flight | 21 February 1969 |
| Last flight | 23 November 1972 |
| First stage – Block A | |
| Diameter | 17.0 m (55.8 ft) |
| Powered by | 30 NK-15 |
| Maximum thrust | 45,400 kN (10,200,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 330 seconds (3.2 km/s) |
| Burn time | 125 s |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
| Second stage – Block B | |
| Powered by | 8 NK-15V |
| Maximum thrust | 14,040 kN (3,160,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 346 seconds (3.39 km/s) |
| Burn time | 120 s |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
| Third stage – Block V | |
| Powered by | 4 NK-21 |
| Maximum thrust | 1,610 kN (360,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 353 seconds (3.46 km/s) |
| Burn time | 370 s |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
| Fourth stage (N1/L3) – Block G (Earth departure) | |
| Powered by | 1 NK-19 |
| Maximum thrust | 446 kN (100,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 353 seconds (3.46 km/s) |
| Burn time | 443 s |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
| Fifth stage (N1/L3) – Block D (Lunar descent assist)[a] | |
| Powered by | 1 RD-58 |
| Maximum thrust | 83.36 kN (18,740 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 349 seconds (3.42 km/s) |
| Burn time | 600 s |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
The N1/L3 (from Ракета-носитель Raketa-nositel', "Carrier Rocket"; Cyrillic: Н1)[3] was a super heavy-lift launch vehicle intended to deliver payloads beyond low Earth orbit. The N1 was the Soviet counterpart to the US Saturn V and was intended to enable crewed travel to the Moon and beyond,[4] with studies beginning as early as 1959.[5] Its first stage, Block A, was the most powerful rocket stage ever flown for over 50 years, generating 45.4 MN of thrust.[6] However, each of the four attempts to launch an N1 failed in flight, with the second attempt resulting in the vehicle crashing back onto its launch pad shortly after liftoff. Adverse characteristics of the large cluster of thirty engines and its complex fuel and oxidizer feeder systems were not revealed earlier in development because static test firings had not been conducted.[7]
The N1-L3 version was designed to compete with the United States Apollo program to land a person on the Moon, using a similar lunar orbit rendezvous method. The basic N1 launch vehicle had three stages, which were to carry the L3 lunar payload into low Earth orbit with two cosmonauts. The L3 contained one stage for trans-lunar injection; another stage used for mid-course corrections, lunar orbit insertion, and the first part of the descent to the lunar surface; a single-pilot LK Lander spacecraft; and a two-pilot Soyuz 7K-LOK lunar orbital spacecraft for return to Earth.
The N1-L3 started development in October 1965, almost four years after the Saturn V, during which it was underfunded and rushed. The project was badly derailed by the death of its chief designer Sergei Korolev in 1966. The N1 program was suspended in 1974, and officially canceled in 1976. All details of the Soviet crewed lunar programs were kept secret until the USSR was nearing collapse in 1989.[8]
- ^ "Complex N1-L3 Components". S.P. Korolev Rocket-Space Corporation Energia. S.P. Korolev RSC "Energia" 4A Lenin Street, Korolev, Moscow area 141070 Russia. Archived from the original on 4 August 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
- ^ a b Zak, Anatoly. Zak, Anatoly (ed.). "Soviet N1 moon booster". russianspaceweb.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
- ^ Lardier, Christian; Barensky, Stefan (12 March 2013) [2010]. The Soyuz launch vehicle the two lives of an engineering triumph. Translated by Bowler, Tim. New York: Springer. p. 82. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-5459-5. ISBN 978-1-4614-5459-5. Archived from the original on 10 September 2023.
- ^ "N1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 12 June 2002. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
- ^ "The N1 Moon Rocket - a brief History". Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- ^ "SpaceX Official Super Heavy Specifications". SpaceX. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
- ^ Vick, Charles P. "The Mishin Diaries – A western perspective" (PDF). mishindiaries.com. The Perot Foundation & Moscow Aviation institute. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
Because the first stage was so big, the decision was made to forego building a separate test facility for it, and instead to try to discover any problems with a series of full-up launches. In hindsight, this would prove to be a mistake, because each of the four launch attempts of the N-1 resulted in failure due to various problems with the first stage.
- ^ Little, Becky (11 July 2019). "The Soviet Response to the Moon Landing? Denial There Was a Moon Race at All". History Channel. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024.
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