N1 moon rocket

Lunar program guide:

Program chronology

Chronology of the Moon Race

N1/Block G

Soviet plans for lunar base

Launch of the N1 rocket. Credit: NPO Energomash

View of he 1st stage of the N1 rocket on the launch pad in the winter of 1969. Credit: NPO Energomash

The N1 rocket on the launch pad. Credit: KBOM

Test station No. 2 (IS-2) at NIIKhIMMMASh research facility near Sergiev Posad, formerly Zagorsk, was used for test firings of the engines for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th stages of the N1-L3 complex. Credit: NIIKhIMMASh

Years after the demise of the Soviet lunar program, shrouds, tanks and other pieces of the giant N-1 rockets remain scattered around Baikonur, serving as storage, gazebos and playgrounds. Copyright © 2000 by Anatoly Zak

The N1-L3 complex was developed for the ill-fated Soviet effort to land a man on the Moon.

HARDWARE

At the beginning of the 1960s, the OKB-1 design bureau led by Sergei Korolev started work on a super-heavy rocket booster, later designated N1. Originally proposed as a multipurpose vehicle for a variety of military and scientific tasks, the N1 evolved into a project with a single mission -- to beat America to the Moon. However, the N1's catastrophic failures during four test launches in 1969-1972 doomed the Soviet effort to land a man on the Moon and left the ill-fated rocket under a veil of secrecy for decades.

N1-L3 system overview (111)

Total length	105 meters
Maximum diameter	17 meters
Liftoff mass	2,783-2,825 tons
Dry mass	281 tons
Total mass of liquid oxygen oxidizer (Block A, B and V combined)	1,780 tons
Total mass of kerosene fuel (Block A, B and V combined)	680 tons
Liftoff trust	4,500 tons
Total payload weight to low-Earth orbit, LEO	95 tons

N1 family overview (84)

Version	Payload, t	Launch mass, t	Dry mass, m	Engine thrust*	Length, m
N1	82	2,825	281	4,500	105
N11	20-24	700-770	-	-	-
N11GR	9	1,012	67	-	-
N111	5	200	-	-	-
N1U	95	2,750	260	4,500	105
N1UV-III	115	2,900	285	4,500	120
N1F	100	2,950	280	5,250	110
N1FV-III	125	3,000	300	5,250	125
N1MV-II-III	150	3,250	355	5,250	145
N1M (Mod. 1)	155	4,950	470	7,500	135
N1M (Mod. 2)	175	5,300	505	7,500	140
N1MV-III (Mod. 1)	185	4,950	490	7,500	145
N1MV-III (Mod. 2)	205	5,350	520	7,500	150
N1MV-II, -III	230	5,200	530	7,500	165

*Total first stage engine thrust

Major participants in the N1 development

Even at the early stage, a wide array of the Soviet institutions had to be involved in such complex project as the N1 (52):

Development area	Organization	Leading Designer
Propulsion (Initial studies)	OKB-456	V. Glushko
Propulsion (Stage I, II and III)	OKB-276	N. Kuznetsov
RD-57 engine for a follow-on Block S upper stage	OKB-165	A. M. Lylka
RD-56 engine for a follow-on Block R and Sr upper stages	KB Khimmash	A. Isaev
Flight control system	NII-885	N. A. Pilyugin
Flight control system	NII-944	V. I. Kuznetsov
Launch infrastructure	GSKB Spetsmash	V. P. Barmin
Ground control infrastructure	NII-4	A. I. Sokolov
Propellant supply and tank purging systems	OKB-12	A. S. Abramov
Aerodynamics	NII-88	Yu. A. Mozhorin
Aerodynamics	TsAGI	V. M. Myasishev
Aerodynamics	NII-1	V. Ya. Likhushin
Manufacturing process	Paton institute	B. E. Paton
Manufacturing process	NITI-40	Ya. V. Kolupaev
Manufacturing process	Progress Plant	A. Ya. Linkov
Propulsion system testing and development	NII-229	G. M. Tabakov

N1 test launches:

Feb. 21, 1969: The first test launch of the N1 rocket (Vehicle No. 3L) failed 68.7 seconds after liftoff.

July 3, 1969: The second test launch of the N1 rocket (Vehicle No. 5L) failed immediately after liftoff.

June 27, 1971: The third launch of the N1 rocket (Vehicle No. 6L) failed at 50.1 seconds after liftoff from the left pad of the Site 110 in Baikonur.

Nov. 23, 1972: The fourth launch of the N1 rocket (Vehicle No. 7L) failed about 107 seconds after liftoff.

Submit this story to:

Writing and photography by Anatoly Zak; last update: September 8, 2008