Soyuz 7K-LOK

Lunniy Orbitalny Korabl drawing
Manufacturer	OKB-1
Designer	Sergei Korolev
Country of origin	Soviet Union
Operator	Soviet space program
Applications	Crewedcislunar flight andlunar orbit
Specifications
Launch mass	9,850 kilograms (21,720 lb)
Crew capacity	2
Dimensions	10.06 meters (33.0 ft) length 2.93 meters (9.6 ft) diameter
Regime	Low Earth orbit Cislunar space Lunar orbit
Production
Status	Canceled
Built	6
Launched	5
Failed	4
Maiden launch	December 2, 1970
Last launch	November 23, 1972
Related spacecraft
Derived from	Soyuz 7K-OK
Derivatives	Soyuz 7K-L1 lunar flyby Soyuz 7K-OKS space station shuttle
Flown with	LK lander

TheSoyuz 7K-LOK, or simplyLOK (Russian:Лунный Орбитальный Корабль,romanized: Lunniy Orbitalny Korabl meaning "Lunar Orbital Craft") was aSovietcrewed spacecraft designed to take humans from Earth to orbit the Moon, developed in parallel to the7K-L1. The LOK would carry two cosmonauts, acting as amother ship for theLK lander which would land one crew member to the surface. It was part of theN1-L3 programme which also included the LK lander and theN1 rocket.^[1]

Like the 7K-OK model, the 7K-LOK was divided into three sections, an ellipsoid Orbital Module, the "headlight"-shaped Descent Module, and a cylindrical equipment module. Like the 7K-OK, the 7K-LOK was capable of physically docking with another spacecraft, but lacked the transfer tunnel used on theApollo (spacecraft), thus forcing the cosmonaut to make aspacewalk from the 7K-LOK's orbital module to the LK Lander using the newKrechet space suit (the predecessor to theOrlan space suits used today on theInternational Space Station).

Another change to the 7K-LOK was the elimination of the solar panels used on the 7K-OK, replacing them withfuel cells similar to those found on the Apollo CSM. Additionally, a "cupola" located on the Orbital Module, allowed the cosmonaut in the 7K-LOK to perform the docking procedure with the LK Lander after lunar liftoff. Only the Descent Module from the 7K-L1, with a thicker, reinforced heatshield, is used on the 7K-LOK and like the 7K-L1, is capable of doing a "skip reentry" so that the Soyuz could be recovered in the Soviet Union.

Theinformation display systems (IDS) on the LOK were different from those of the Soyuz-7K. The Descent Module was equipped with the "Uran" control panel and the Orbital Module featured the "Orion" approach control panel.

Only three uncrewed 7K-LOKs were flown in the short lifespan of thefailed Soviet lunar program.

• One of them was a dummy 7K-LOK as aSoyuz 7K-L1E modification of aSoyuz 7K-L1 "Zond" spacecraft and was successfully test launched intoLow Earth orbit on aProton rocket designated asKosmos 382 (Soyuz 7K-L1E No.2) on December 2, 1970.
• Two other unsuccessful launches of dummy 7K-LOK (Soyuz 7K-L1E No.1) and operational (Soyuz 7K-LOK No.1) with dummy LKs were fulfilled atop theN-1 rocket in its later flights on June 26, 1971 and November 23, 1972 intended for lunar flybys. Both spacecraft were pulled and saved by thelaunch escape system when those boosters failed. The two aborted flights later proved that the launch-escape system worked when a similar problem on aSoyuz-U forced theSoyuz T-10a to be jettisoned with its cosmonaut crew in 1983 before the booster exploded on the launchpad, destroying it. On two early flights of the N-1, both of them failures, anotherSoyuz 7K-L1S "Zond-M" modification of the 7K-L1 spacecraft instead of the 7K-LOK or 7K-L1E were used without the dummy LK, and they, along with the booster, were destroyed.

• Subsequently, a complete L3 lunar expedition complex with an operational 7K-LOK and LK, LOK 2, for an uncrewed lunar flyby and landing mission (in preparation of a future crewed flight) was prepared for the fifth launch of a modified N1 rocket in August 1974. TheN1-L3 program was cancelled in May 1974 and the Soviets decided to concentrate on the development ofspace stations, achieving several firsts in the process.^[2]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSoyuz 7K-LOK.

• LOK spacecraft article
• Soyuz 7K-LOK article

• Crewed spacecraft
• Soyuz programme
• Cancelled Soviet spacecraft
• Soviet lunar program

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