Photos of the secret lunar program of the USSR
These photographic materials are some of the remaining evidence to date that the USSR also tried to land a man on the moon - obviously, after it could not, or, more precisely, did not have time to do it, they forgot about the program.
However, fortunately, little disappears forever and without a trace. The photographs that we can see captured one of the laboratories of the Moscow Aviation Institute, as well as aerospace equipment, including the spacecraft and the lunar landing module.
History The Lunar Race is well known to many contemporaries: before US President John F. Kennedy initiated the launch of the Apollo program, the Soviet Union was noticeably ahead of the United States in matters of moon exploration. In particular, the automatic interplanetary station Luna-1959 was delivered to 2 on the surface of the Moon, and a Soviet satellite came to its orbit at 1966.
Like the Americans, Soviet scientists developed a multi-step approach to accomplishing the task. They also had two separate modules for staying in orbit and for landing.
While the Apollo-11 crew included three members, the entire burden of the Soviet lunar program was to be placed on the shoulders of one cosmonaut — thus, the weight of the equipment was significantly reduced. In addition, there were other differences that make the Soviet apparatus easier. First of all, they include the comparative simplicity of the design, the use of the same engine for landing and take-off, as well as the absence of a direct connection between the orbital module and the lunar module. This meant that the astronaut would need to go into outer space in order to move to the landing module before disembarking and, later, to get back into the orbital module after returning from the Moon. After that, the lunar module was disconnected, and the spacecraft was sent to Earth without it.
The main reason that prevented the Soviet side from landing a man on the moon was the failure of launch vehicles. Despite the fact that the first two test launches were successful, during the third rocket crashed. In the fourth test, conducted in 1971, the test spacecraft returned to Earth in an incorrect trajectory, hitting Australian airspace, which could lead to an international scandal: Soviet diplomats allegedly had to convince Australians that the object falling on them was a space test Cosmos-434 module, not a nuclear warhead.
After several failures, the program became too expensive, and after the Americans presented the world with documentary evidence of the success of the Apollo-11 mission, it lost all sense. As a result, space equipment has become something of a museum exhibit.
However, fortunately, little disappears forever and without a trace. The photographs that we can see captured one of the laboratories of the Moscow Aviation Institute, as well as aerospace equipment, including the spacecraft and the lunar landing module.
History The Lunar Race is well known to many contemporaries: before US President John F. Kennedy initiated the launch of the Apollo program, the Soviet Union was noticeably ahead of the United States in matters of moon exploration. In particular, the automatic interplanetary station Luna-1959 was delivered to 2 on the surface of the Moon, and a Soviet satellite came to its orbit at 1966.
Like the Americans, Soviet scientists developed a multi-step approach to accomplishing the task. They also had two separate modules for staying in orbit and for landing.
While the Apollo-11 crew included three members, the entire burden of the Soviet lunar program was to be placed on the shoulders of one cosmonaut — thus, the weight of the equipment was significantly reduced. In addition, there were other differences that make the Soviet apparatus easier. First of all, they include the comparative simplicity of the design, the use of the same engine for landing and take-off, as well as the absence of a direct connection between the orbital module and the lunar module. This meant that the astronaut would need to go into outer space in order to move to the landing module before disembarking and, later, to get back into the orbital module after returning from the Moon. After that, the lunar module was disconnected, and the spacecraft was sent to Earth without it.
The main reason that prevented the Soviet side from landing a man on the moon was the failure of launch vehicles. Despite the fact that the first two test launches were successful, during the third rocket crashed. In the fourth test, conducted in 1971, the test spacecraft returned to Earth in an incorrect trajectory, hitting Australian airspace, which could lead to an international scandal: Soviet diplomats allegedly had to convince Australians that the object falling on them was a space test Cosmos-434 module, not a nuclear warhead.
After several failures, the program became too expensive, and after the Americans presented the world with documentary evidence of the success of the Apollo-11 mission, it lost all sense. As a result, space equipment has become something of a museum exhibit.
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