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LK-700 - Landing on the Moon (1964)

Korolev was not the only creator of lunar ships. Vladimir Chelomey, no less famous designer, starts creating an alternative project. He proposed to create a rocket carrier UR-700, which was able to bring to the trajectory of the flight to the moon 50 tons of cargo: a space vehicle with a crew of two people. In an effort to simplify the operations related to the launch and maneuvers of the spacecraft, the OKB-52 designers proposed a direct flight to the Moon. However, as calculations showed, for this it was necessary to create a carrier rocket, one and a half times higher than the H-1 carrying capacity.

The Chelomey OKB project provided for a manned flyby of the LK-1 spacecraft and landing crew on the Moon and returning it to Earth using the LK-700 spacecraft. For the first flight it was supposed to use the Chelemey rocket UR-500K, for the second - the UR-700. The latter was developed as a development of the “UR-500”. The development of the UR-700 was closed on October 31, 1964. However, since the development of the RD-270 engine for this rocket continued, Chelomey did not stop the development of the UR-700.

After the manned flyby program was transferred from OKB-52 to OKB-1, V.N. Chelomey, trying to catch up and to compete with the N1-L3 project, tried to get out with the project of the ship for landing on the moon. This ship was designed for a UR–700 launch vehicle with a payload of more than 130 tons, the design of which was carried out at branch 1 of the OKB–52. At the plenary session of the expert commission (November 16, 1966), which reviewed the progress of work under the program N1–L3, V.N.Chelomei presented a proposal to create the ship LK-700.

Chelomey felt the main danger of the project N1-L3, which was designed by Korolev, was that the whole expedition consisted of several stages: the spacecraft was withdrawn to an intermediate near-earth orbit, from which it set off towards the Moon, where it was braked and entered the orbit of its artificial satellite. After that, the landing module that sat on the moon was undocked from the orbital compartment, after some stay on its surface it started, docked with the orbital compartment where the crew passed, after which the lunar module disconnected, and the cosmonauts returned to the orbiter, from which, before the very achievement The lander was separated from the lander with people, home.

This scheme was implemented by the Americans during the implementation of the Apollo program. But such a scheme for that time was quite complicated. The spacecraft could not reach the near-moon orbit, and the landing module could not dock with the orbital compartment. Now docking in space seems to be something ordinary, but in the 1960s the methods of approaching space vehicles were just being worked out. Because of the imperfection of spacecraft during the flight to work out rapproachement and docking, Komarov died (when landing), and the Soviet space program fell behind for several years.

For these reasons, a direct landing on the Moon at that time was very logical. The scheme of the "direct" expedition to the "UR-700-LK-700" project was practically the same as the "direct" version of the Nova Apollo project, which the Americans abandoned at the end of 1961. However, It provided for the launch of a spaceship into the near-Earth orbit with an accelerating block and its subsequent launch to the Moon.

The concept of this ship was in many ways unexpected. In an effort to extremely simplify operations associated with the rebuilding of the ship, and thereby increase the reliability of the expedition, V.N. Chelomey offered to carry out a direct flight to the moon. However, as the calculations showed, for this it was necessary to create a launch vehicle, approximately 1.5 times better than the carrying capacity of the H – 1. The design of such a rocket at OKB-52 began to work almost simultaneously with the development of a medium-carrying launch vehicle UR-500K (Proton). The main requirement for the new carrier was the possibility of its block-by-block transportation from the manufacturer to the cosmodrome, where the rapid assembly, testing and launch of the rocket took place.

The scheme of the “direct” expedition on the project UR – 700 – LK – 700 practically did not differ from the “direct” version of the project “Nova” - “Apollo”, which the Americans refused at the end of 1961. It envisaged the introduction into space of an orbit of a spacecraft with an upper stage and its subsequent launch to the Moon. The deceleration and the escape of spacecraft to the circumlunar orbit, as well as the descent from it and the suppression of the main velocity were performed using a special braking unit. At a height of several kilometers from the moon's surface, the brake block was dropped, and the soft landing of the ship on the landing pillars was carried out by throttling the LRE of the take-off block, as is done in the lunar spacecraft of the N1-L3 program. LRE of all units, as well as the engines of the UR–700 launch vehicle,

The spacecraft was taken to the trajectory of a direct hit at the desired point of the Moon, and without any complicated operations landed. Such a scheme is less effective, but it was simpler, and therefore more reliable. There were other advantages. Now it was possible to sit down almost anywhere in the visible disk of the Moon (more precisely, by 88% of the lunar surface), in contrast to the projects using lunar orbits, which imposed restrictions on the choice of the landing site by the inclination of its orbit.

Chelomei created a project UR700-LK700, consisting of a powerful heavy RN and a lunar ship. Its main points were the following facts: long stored components (hydrazine / nitrogen tetroxide) were used as a fuel / oxidizer, the whole system should be as simple as possible (and safer), the development of LV should be built using already developed technologies. The selected type of trajectory made it possible to significantly expand the "start windows" during which the launch could be started. In addition, the lunar module in the project of Korolev could make docking with the orbiter only if it started from the Moon at a strictly certain time, the deviation from which could be catastrophic. The project of Chelomey did not have such a disadvantage.

Chelomei proposed a ship called the LK-700. It would have landing gear and would be attached to a high-energy propulsion stage to allow for smooth descent and subsequent take-off. Chelomei, with this configuration, was declaring that he preferred a direct trip, which avoided the always dangerous maneuvers of approach and coupling in lunar orbit (as the Apollos would do). The chief engineer could not accept the risk that the occupant or occupants of the lunar module might be unable to return to Earth due to a failure during the meeting with the rest of the expedition.

The landing system of the LK-700 would remain folded during the journey to the Moon. The lunar ship itself would have consisted of an acceleration module, a deceleration module -the latter two coincided with the upper stages of the UR-500K, used for the program-, a moon descent module and a return capsule, as well as a escape system during the ascent (DU-SAS). In total, 21 meters high. The acceleration module would have allowed to reach the escape velocity towards the Moon from Earth orbit, while the deceleration module would have facilitated the maneuvers of the vehicle and its descent on the lunar surface.

At about 3 kilometers altitude, it would be ejected, and the ship with the crew would alight by its own means and a telescopic four- or six-legged landing gear. After two days of stay, the two passengers of the expedition would leave behind their objective; leaving the landing gear, the ship would accelerate to return to Earth. Near this, the lunar module, which would have done all the maneuvers, would be detached and the crew, inside the capsule of descent, would perform the atmospheric reentry.

The use of elements belonging to his younger brother, the UR-500K (which had great problems), delayed in some way its exact definition, which did not occur until at least 1966. By then, the N-1 Korolev was more advanced and the Government decided to keep the UR-700 in hibernation.

Two cosmonauts of the LK-700 spacecraft were located in a return vehicle, resembling a VA, designed for the flight program UR – 500K – LK – 1.

After completing the flight tasks related to the crew’s stay on the moon, the landing gear was detached and the take-off block of the take-off unit was launched with its work at full thrust. After launching from the moon, the ship LK700 could either first enter the circumlunar orbit, and then launch from it to the Earth (one version of the project), or immediately go to the flight path to the Earth (second option). After carrying out with the help of the LRE, the take-off block of the correction of the flight trajectory before approaching the Earth, the separation of the air defense was to be carried out with the subsequent entry into the atmosphere, controlled descent and parachute landing.

The mass of the LK-700 lunar vehicle in the near-Earth intermediate orbit with a height of 200 km would be 151 tons. At this point, its total length would be 21.2 meters. The LK-700 itself would consist of several parts. The first part - this upper stage, which provided the removal of the entire complex to the moon, its mass would be 101 tons. The second part provided braking at the Moon, providing practically zero speed at an altitude of several km above the Moon. The weight of the brake part was 37.5 tons. The third part was a landing gear itself, which sat on the surface.

Because of the special arrangement of the lunar compartment, six long, distinctive skis were used as supports. This allowed it to sit with high vertical (up to 5 m / s) and horizontal velocities (up to 2 m / s) on the surface with an inclination of up to 15 °. After contact with the Moon, the landing module was leveled: in each support there was an electric motor, which provided the necessary alignment. After working on the surface, the spacecraft (weighing already 9.3 tons) with the crew was withdrawn to the intermediate circumlunar orbit or to the direct trajectory of the return. Landing on Earth was carried out in the same way as in projects L1 or Apollo. The device entered the atmosphere of the Earth with a speed of 11 km/s over Antarctica, "jumped out" of the atmosphere and again entered it in the designated area of ??the Soviet Union. The lander would weigh 1.5-2 tons.

Despite the disgrace that followed the removal of Khrushchev in October 1964, Vladimir Chelomei did not give up hope of realizing his version of the expedition to the moon. The UR-700-LK700 project was presented on November 16, 1966 by a commission headed by Keldysh, as an alternative to the N1-L3 project, which was conducted by Korolev and Mishin. And although Glushko supported Chelomey, and not Korolev, who unfortunately was dying at this time, nevertheless project N1-L3 remains more important than UR-700.

The office of Cheloméi - by then called TsKBM - changed the design of the UR-700 at the end of 1967, design that is what appears in the majority of references. The first stage would be formed by six blocks and the third by three (based on the UR-500, with three RD-254 derived from the RD-253). The mass of the rocket would be 4823 tons (the N1 had 2735 t) and the thrust to the launch of 56500 kN (compared to 43000 kN of the N1). The LK-3 ship would now be the LK-700, larger and more capable.

In general, it was planned to carry out five flights of UR-700 / LK-700, after two unmanned flights three manned expeditions were to follow. It was assumed that with the beginning of funding in 1968 in the second quarter of 1969, the astronauts would begin to prepare for this program; in 1970, the design of a prototype of a lunar ship would be completed, the tests of which were completed by 1971, in November of the same year the first LK-700 (lunar module) and UR-700 (launch vehicle) would be ready. In May 1972, the first unmanned launch could take place, the second unmanned flight was scheduled to take place in November of the same year, a possible third one in April 1973. In the same month, the first manned flight was already possible, which was to be repeated in August and October of the same year. If the project was opened, say, in 1961, then, perhaps, the Soviets would outstrip the Americans.

Based on the developments made in OKB-52, V.N. Chelomei tried to convince the leadership of the industry that with financial support, using the groundwork created in previous works, his design bureau would be able to quickly implement the program and ensure the priority of the USSR in landing on the moon. In this he was supported by V.P.Glushko and some chief designers. However, the expert commission found such a statement too bold and only allowed the conceptual design of the UR–700 – LK–700 complex. The development of the ship and carrier, carried out in the framework of the usual scientific research, lasted until the beginning of the seventies, when the Moon exploration program was reoriented from manned to unmanned flights.