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Family: N. Country: Russia. Status: Cancelled 1959.
The ancestor of the N1 lunar launch vehicle, this was the first heavy lift launch vehicle actively considered in the USSR. The 2,000 tonne liftoff mass was similar to the later N1 design, but the first stage would use a staggering cluster of around 66 Kuznetsov NK-9 engines (as opposed to the modest 24 NK-15's of the first N1 configuration). The real difference was in the second stage, which used the nuclear YaRD engine, giving the launch vehicle nearly double the later N1's payload capacity.
SpecificationsLEO Payload: 150,000 kg. to: 185 km Orbit. Liftoff Thrust: 2,989,160 kgf. Total Mass: 2,030,000 kg. Core Diameter: 9.0 m. Total Length: 64.0 m.
- Stage Number: 1. 1 x Superraket Block A Gross Mass: 1,150,000 kg. Empty Mass: 100,000 kg. Thrust (vac): 3,432,000 kgf. Isp: 310 sec. Burn time: 90 sec. Isp(sl): 270 sec. Diameter: 9.0 m. Span: 15.0 m. Length: 27.0 m. Propellants: Lox/Kerosene No Engines: 66. NK-9
- Stage Number: 2. 1 x Superraket Block B Gross Mass: 700,000 kg. Empty Mass: 75,000 kg. Thrust (vac): 850,000 kgf. Isp: 550 sec. Burn time: 400 sec. Isp(sl): 500 sec. Diameter: 9.0 m. Span: 9.0 m. Length: 26.0 m. Propellants: Nuclear/Ammonia No Engines: 2. YaRD OKB-456
Bibliography:- 89 - Semenov, Yu. P., S P Korolev Space Corporation Energia, RKK Energia, 1994.
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Last update 12 March 2001.
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