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Soviet Lunar Landing
Part of Lunar L3
Soyuz LOK
Soyuz LOK
Soyuz LOK lunar orbiter.
Credit: © Mark Wade
The Russians were never able to have enough success with the N1 booster to have a serious schedule for the first Soviet lunar landing. In January 1969, before the first N1 launch, it was not expected that a Soviet landing would take place until 1972 at the earliest.

Launched: June 1972. Number crew: 2 .

In such circumstances only a disaster leading to cancellation of the Apollo program would allow the Russians to be first to the moon. After the explosions of the first two N1 rockets, and the success of Apollo 11, Russian engineering efforts were diverted into crash development of the Salyut space station in order to beat the American Skylab. Cosmonauts trained for L3 lunar landing missions until October 1973, when the last training group was dissolved. By that time actual manned flight of the original single-launch L3 LOK/LK spacecraft to the moon had been abandoned. Instead work was underway on the N1F-L3M, a twin launch scenario that would put the L3M lander on the surface in 1978 for extended operations, and eventually, a lunar base. This in turn was cancelled with the entire N1 program in 1974.



Projects: Lunar L3.

1965 December 31 - . LV Family: N1. Launch Vehicle: N1 1964.
1966 January 24 - .
1966 February 17 - .
1966 September 2 - .
1966 September 2 - .
1966 November 19 - .
1972 June 1 - . Launch Vehicle: N1.

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