A giant N-1 rocket sits on the pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome, circa 1969
*N-1 Launch Vehicle Characteristics
Block A First Stage | Block B Second Stage | Block V Third Stage | |
Stage Specifications | . | . | . |
Lower diameter (meters/feet) | 16.8/55.1 | 10.3/33.7 | 7.6/24.9 |
Upper diameter (meters/feet) | 11/36 | 7.6/24.9 | 6.0/19.6 |
Height (meters/feet) | 30/98.4 | 20.5/67.2 | 11.5/37.7 |
Total stage mass (metric tons/tons) | 1870/2060.7 | 540/595 | 185/203.8 |
Fuel tank diameter (meters/feet) | 10.5/34.4 | 7.0/23 | 4.9/16 |
Oxidizer tank diameter (meters/feet) | 12.8/42 | 8.5/27.8 | 5.9/19.3 |
Number of main engines | 30 | 8 | 4 |
Total thrust (metric tons/tons) | 4620/5091 | 1432/1578 | 164/180.7 |
Nominal burn time (seconds) | 110 | 130 | 400 |
Number of roll control engines | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Roll control engine thrust (metric tons/tons) | 7/7.7 | 6/6.6 | 2/2.2 |
Main Engine Specifications | |||
Engine designation (Type/Name) | NK-33 | NK-43 | NK-39 |
Fuel | Kerosene | Kerosene | Kerosene |
Oxidizer | Liquid Oxygen | Liquid Oxygen | Liquid Oxygen |
Thrust (metric tons/tons) | 154/169.7 | 179/197.2 | 41/45.1 |
Specific Impulse (seconds) | 331 | 348 | 353 |
*N-1 Flight History
Date | Vehicle # | Payload | Mission Results |
21 Feb 69 | N-1 3L | L-1S/LK mockup | First stage malfunction at T+70 sec, vehicle destroyed |
3 July 69 | N-1 5L | L-1S/LK mockup | First stage malfunction before vehicle cleared the launch tower. Vehicle and tower both destroyed |
27 June 71 | N-1 6L | none | First stage malfunction, vehicle destroyed at T+51 sec |
23 Nov 72 | N-1 7L | LOK/LK mockup | First stage malfunction, vehicle destroyed at T+107 sec |
*Information for both tables taken from the book The Soviet Reach for the Moon by Nicholas L. Johnson. If anyone has better information than this, please e-mail me and let me know and I will correct it ASAP. Thanks!