LEK Lunar Lander Media Gallery

Lunar lander for the Vulkan surface base. As in the original LK lunar lander, this would be taken to near zero velocity near the lunar surface by the Vulkan Block V 'lunar crasher' rocket stage. It would then descend to the lunar surface using a landing stage nearly identical to the American lunar module descent stage.

This landing stage however would primarily provide propulsion of the upper Ascent/earth recovery stage to a trans-earth trajectory. The Ascent/earth recovery stage consisted of a re-entry capsule in the shape of but larger than the Soyuz descent module, encapsulated in a larger pressurized volume providing crew quarters and equipment storage.

Crew Size: 3. Design Life: 365 days. Orbital Storage: 365 days. Length: 9.70 m (31.80 ft). Maximum Diameter: 5.50 m (18.00 ft). Span: 11.30 m (37.00 ft). Mass: 31,000 kg (68,000 lb). Electrical System: Solar panels. Associated Launch Vehicle: Vulkan.

• LEK SA.  Other Designations: Spuskaemiy apparat. Part of: LEK. Class: Manned. Type: Spacecraft Module. Purpose: Landing apparatus - Reentry capsule for crew and lunar samples.

  Descent module was contained within pressurized cabin of LEK ascent stage. Crew may have entered hatch in heat shield.

  Crew Size: 3. Length: 2.24 m (7.34 ft). Basic Diameter: 2.17 m (7.11 ft). Maximum Diameter: 2.17 m (7.11 ft). Habitable Volume: 4.00 m3. Mass: 3,400 kg (7,400 lb). RCS Coarse No x Thrust: 6 X 98 N. RCS Propellants: H2O2.

• LEK VS.  Other Designations: Vzletnaya stuplen. Part of: LEK. Class: Manned. Type: Spacecraft Module. Purpose: Ascent stage - Carry crew and Soyuz descent module from lunar surface to trans-earth trajectory. Provide crew quarters and midcourse corrections during return journey from lunar surface to earth.

  Ascent stage, carried a crew of three from the lunar surface to trans-earth trajectory. Contained within the pressurized cabin was a Soyuz descent module for reentry by the crew into the earth's atmosphere.

  Crew Size: 3. Length: 5.80 m (19.00 ft). Basic Diameter: 3.10 m (10.10 ft). Maximum Diameter: 5.40 m (17.70 ft). Mass: 18,600 kg (41,000 lb). Main Engine Propellants: N2O4/UDMH.

• LEK PS.  Other Designations: Posadochnaya stuplen. Part of: LEK. Class: Manned. Type: Spacecraft Module. Purpose: Landing stage - Carry LEK ascent stage from lunar orbit to lunar surface; act as launching platform for LEK ascent stage.

  Descent stage very similar in appearance to that of Apollo LM, with same function - descent from lunar orbit to landing of crewed module on surface of moon.

  Length: 3.90 m (12.70 ft). Basic Diameter: 5.50 m (18.00 ft). Maximum Diameter: 11.30 m (37.00 ft). Mass: 38,000 kg (83,000 lb). Main Engine Propellants: N2O4/UDMH. Main Engine Propellants: 29,000 kg (63,000 lb).

• 1975 January 1 - Vulkan Lunar Base - Program: Lunar L3. Launch Vehicle: N1, RLA-150.

  Mishin and Barmin, using budget provided by the Ministry of Defence, had designed a lunar base for launch by the N1 in 1969-1974. After the cancellation of the N1, Glushko pleaded with the Military-Industrial Commission for the work to be taken from Barmin and be given to NPO Energia. Glushko's alternative, Vulkan-launched base was elaborated within his bureau. Bushuyev developed spacecraft for the base. Prudnikova developed a modular lunar city, with living modules, factory modules, a nuclear reactor power module, and a lunar crawler with a 200 km radius of action. The project work was only finally cancelled after the Apollo-Soyuz flights.

• 1977 December 1 - Glushko uninterested in further lunar base work - Launch Vehicle: N1, N1F Sr.

  Bushuyev tells Chertok that the lunar base work did not interest Glushko. The VPK Military-Industrial Commission was only interested in duplicating the American shuttle, not in any other ventures in space. With the N1-Sr booster, Russia could have had a six man lunar base established with 8 to 10 launches in the late 1970's. Bushuyev died on 26 October 1978, having seen his dream completely tossed away.

• 1978 January 1 - Vulkan Lunar Base rejected - Launch Vehicle: RLA-150, Energia.

  An expert commission led by Keldysh examines the plan for a lunar base launched by the Vulkan booster. The plan is completely rejected. NPO Energia was told to quit dreaming and devote itself only to projects with national economic importance, like Buran. This put a definitive end to Glushko's lunar base projects studied in 1976-1978. But he just waited and started design work again on a lunar base using the Energia launch vehicle after the first Buran launch in 1988.

• Chertok, Boris Yevseyevich, Raketi i lyudi, Mashinostroenie, Moscow, 1994-1999.. ISBN: 5217024976. Russian language autobiography in four volumes of one of Korolev's chief assistants. NASA is in the process of translating the work - the pdf is for the first volume only, up to WW2. Accessed at: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20050010181_2005010059.pdf. -right click to download pdfs! More at amazon.com...

• Semenov, Yu. P., S P Korolev Space Corporation Energia, RKK Energia, 1994. ISBN: 1896522815. Dual English/Russian language picture book of the history of the Energia Corporation. Many unique photos and drawings of Korolev's rockets and spacecraft. Republished by Apogee books in 2000. More at amazon.com...