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.

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