LK-700

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.

LK-700
ManufacturerOKB-52
Country of originSoviet Union
OperatorSoviet space program
ApplicationsLand cosmonauts on the Moon and bring them back to Earth
Production
StatusCanceled
Related spacecraft
Derived fromLK-1
DerivativesTKS 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
  1. "LK-700". astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  2. "UR-700 launch vehicle".
  3. "What Would a Soviet Moon Landing Have Looked Like?". DNews. Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
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