Nositel N-1 Lunar Launch
Vehicle
L-3 Lunar Complex
The payload of the N-1 super-booster: the L-3 lunar
"complex". It was comprised of (from bottom to top) the "Block G"
trans-lunar injection stage; the "Block D" "Crasher" stage, which was attached
to the LK lunar lander and would have been used to brake the stack into
lunar orbit and take the LK lander down to just above the landing site;
the "Block E" LK lunar landing vehicle; and the LOK "Block I" lunar orbital
vehicle, a souped-up Soyuz which served as the command ship.
The entire L-3 Complex was enclosed in a protective
shroud, topped by a large, solid rocket Launch Escape System (LES) designed
to pull the LOK off the top of the vehicle in the event of an in-flight
emergency during the boost phase.
The exterior shroud\LES stood 141 feet tall.
A second shroud inside the exterior one enclosed the "Block D" "Crasher"
stage and the LOK up until the time when the crew began final preparations
for the landing while in lunar orbit.
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