View source for Engineering:LK-700

{{Short description|Soviet moon lander program}}{{Infobox spacecraft class
| image =
| name = LK-700
| manufacturer = OKB-52
| country = [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]]
| applications = Land [[Astronaut|cosmonauts]] on the [[Astronomy:Moon|Moon]] and bring them back to [[Astronomy:Earth|Earth]]
| operator = [[Astronomy:Soviet space program|Soviet space program]]
| lifetime =
| derivedfrom = [[Engineering:LK-1|LK-1]]
| derivatives = TKS spacecraft
| status = Canceled
| built =
| launched =
| retired =
}}

'''LK-700''' was a Soviet [[Astronomy:Direct ascent|direct ascent]] lunar lander program proposed in 1964.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/craft/lk700.htm|title=LK-700|work=astronautix.com|accessdate=5 July 2015|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131121214206/http://www.astronautix.com/craft/lk700.htm|archivedate=21 November 2013}}</ref> It was developed by [[Biography:Vladimir Chelomey|Vladimir Chelomey]] as an alternative to the N1-L3 program. It was also a further development of the [[Engineering:LK-1|LK-1]] lunar flyby spacecraft.

It would have been launched using the proposed [[Engineering:Universal Rocket#UR-700|UR-700]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/ur700.html|title = UR-700 launch vehicle}}</ref> rocket (related to the [[Engineering:Proton (rocket family)|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.discovery.com/space/history-of-space/what-would-a-soviet-moon-landing-have-looked-like-130722.htm|title=What Would a Soviet Moon Landing Have Looked Like?|work=DNews|accessdate=5 July 2015|archive-date=3 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503002347/http://news.discovery.com/space/history-of-space/what-would-a-soviet-moon-landing-have-looked-like-130722.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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&nbsp;m/s
* Gross mass: 154,000&nbsp;kg  
* Height: 21.20 m
* Span: 2.70 m
* Thrust: 131.40&nbsp;kN
* Specific impulse: 326 s

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{N1-L3}}
{{Russian human spaceflight programs}}
{{Crewed lunar spacecraft}}

[[Category:Crewed spacecraft]]
[[Category:Soviet lunar program]]

{{Sourceattribution|LK-700}}