View source for N1 (rocket)

{{short description|Soviet super heavy-lift launch vehicle}}
{{about|the Soviet rocket|the Japanese rocket|N-I (rocket)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox rocket
|image =N1 1M1 mockup on the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in late 1967.jpg
|caption = Mockup at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in late 1967
<!----Core parameters (required)---->
|name = N1
|function = [[Super heavy-lift launch vehicle]] for crewed lunar mission
|manufacturer = [[OKB-1]]
|country-origin = [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|USSR]]
|cpl = {{US$|604}}{{nbsp}}million (1985)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.astronautix.com/n/n11964.html |title=N1 1964 |last=Wade |first=Mark |website=[[Encyclopedia Astronautica]] |access-date=January 16, 2025 }}</ref>
<!----Dimensions (required)---->
|height = {{cvt|105.3|m}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Complex N1-L3 Components |url=https://www.energia.ru/en/history/systems/vehicles/vehicle_n1-l3_c.html |website=S.P. Korolev Rocket-Space Corporation Energia |publisher=S.P. Korolev RSC "Energia" 4A Lenin Street, Korolev, Moscow area 141070 Russia |access-date=13 June 2019 |archive-date=4 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804104046/https://www.energia.ru/en/history/systems/vehicles/vehicle_n1-l3_c.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|diameter = {{cvt|17|m}}<ref name="Soviet N1 moon booster" />
|mass = {{cvt|2750000|kg}}
|stages = 5
<!----Payloads (optional)---->
|capacities =
  {{Infobox rocket/Payload
  |location = [[Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
  |mass     = {{cvt|95000|kg}}<ref name="Soviet N1 moon booster">{{Cite web |last=Zak |first=Anatoly |title=Soviet N1 moon booster |url=https://www.russianspaceweb.com/n1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215013247/https://www.russianspaceweb.com/n1.html |archive-date=15 February 2024 |access-date=24 January 2015 |website=RussianSpaceWeb.com }}</ref>
  }}
  {{Infobox rocket/Payload
  |location = [[Trans Lunar Injection|TLI]]
  |mass     = cca {{cvt|33000|kg}}{{efn|Calculated as sum of the [[Block D]], [[LK (spacecraft)|LK lander]] and [[Soyuz 7K-LOK|LOK spacecraft]]}}
  }}
<!----Launch history (required)---->
|status = Cancelled during development
|sites = [[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]], [[Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 110|Site 110]]
|launches = 4
|success = 0
|fail = 4
|partial =
|first=21 February 1969
|last=23 November 1972
<!--Stages/boosters (optional)-->
|stagedata    =
  {{Infobox Rocket/Stage
  |stageno    = First
  |type       = stage
  |name       = Block A
  |length     = <!--{{convert||m|ft|abbr=on}}-->
  |diameter   = {{cvt|17|m}}
  |empty      = <!--{{convert||kg|lb}}-->
  |gross      = <!--{{convert||kg|lb}}-->
  |engines    = 30 × [[NK-15]]
  |thrust     = {{Unbulleted list
   | {{abbr|SL|at sea level}}: {{cvt|45780|kN}}
   | {{abbr|vac|in vacuum}}: {{cvt|46320|kN}}
   }}
  |SI         = {{Unbulleted list
   | {{abbr|SL|at sea level}}: {{cvt|297|isp}}
   | {{abbr|vac|in vacuum}}: {{cvt|318|isp}}
   }}
  |burntime   = 125 seconds
  |fuel       = [[LOX]] / [[RG-1 (propellant)|RG-1]]
  }}
  {{Infobox Rocket/Stage
  |stageno    = Second
  |type       = stage
  |name       = Block B
  |length     = <!--{{convert||m|ft}}-->
  |diameter   = <!--{{convert||m|ft}}-->
  |empty      = <!--{{convert||kg|lb}}-->
  |gross      = <!--{{convert||kg|lb}}-->
  |engines    = 8 × [[NK-15|NK-15V]]
  |thrust     = {{cvt|14,064|kN}}
  |SI         = {{cvt|325|isp}}
  |burntime   = 120 seconds
  |fuel       = [[LOX]] / [[RG-1 (propellant)|RG-1]]
  }}
  {{Infobox Rocket/Stage
  |stageno    = Third
  |type       = stage
  |name       = Block V
  |length     = <!--{{convert||m|ft}}-->
  |diameter   = <!--{{convert||m|ft}}-->
  |empty      = <!--{{convert||kg|lb}}-->
  |gross      = <!--{{convert||kg|lb}}-->
  |engines    = 4 × [[NK-19]]<ref name="Soviet Rocket Engines">{{Cite web |last=Kiseleva |first=Mariia |date=2021-11-24 |title=Soviet Rocket Engines |url=https://everydayastronaut.com/soviet-rocket-engines/ |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=Everyday Astronaut |language=en-US}}</ref>
  |thrust     = {{cvt|1800|kN}}
  |SI         = {{cvt|346|isp}}
  |burntime   = 370 seconds
  |fuel       = [[LOX]] / [[RG-1 (propellant)|RG-1]]
  }}
  {{Infobox Rocket/Stage
  |stageno    = Fourth
  |type       = stage
  |name       = Block G
  |length     = <!--{{cvt||m}}-->
  |diameter   = <!--{{cvt||m}}-->
  |empty      = <!--{{cvt||m}}-->
  |gross      = <!--{{cvt||m}}-->
  |engines    = 1 × [[NK-21]]<ref name="Soviet Rocket Engines" />
  |thrust     = {{cvt|329|kN}}
  |SI         = {{cvt|346|isp}}
  |burntime   = 443 seconds
  |fuel       = [[LOX]] / [[RG-1 (propellant)|RG-1]]
  }}
  {{Infobox rocket/Stage
  |stageno    = Fifth
  |type       = stage
  |name       = [[Block D]]{{efn|The "fifth stage" similar to the [[Service propulsion system]] on the [[Apollo Command and Service Module]], but treated as a part of the launch vehicle}}
  |length     = <!--{{cvt||m}}-->
  |diameter   = <!--{{cvt||m}}-->
  |empty      = <!--{{cvt||m}}-->
  |gross      = <!--{{cvt||m}}-->
  |engines    = 1 × [[RD-58]]<ref name="Soviet Rocket Engines" />
  |thrust     = {{cvt|83.36|kN}}
  |SI         = {{cvt|349|isp}}
  |burntime   = 600 seconds
  |fuel       = [[LOX]] / [[RG-1 (propellant)|RG-1]]
  }}
|comparable= [[Saturn V]]
}}

The '''N1''' (from {{lang|ru|Ракета-носитель}} {{Transliteration|ru|ISO|Raketa-nositel'}}, "Carrier Rocket"; Cyrillic: '''[[En (Cyrillic)|Н]]1''')<ref name="lardierbarensky2013">{{Cite book |translator-last=Bowler |translator-first=Tim |last1=Lardier |first1=Christian |last2=Barensky |first2=Stefan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CWRIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 |title=The Soyuz launch vehicle the two lives of an engineering triumph |date=12 March 2013 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4614-5459-5 |location=New York |page=82 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-5459-5 |orig-date=2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910154450/https://books.google.com/books?id=CWRIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 |archive-date=10 September 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref> was a [[super heavy-lift launch vehicle]] intended to deliver payloads beyond [[low Earth orbit]]. The N1 was the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] counterpart to the US [[Saturn V]] and was intended to enable crewed travel to the [[Moon]] and beyond,<ref name= lvsn1>{{cite web|url= http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/n1.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20020612070438/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/n1.htm |url-status= dead |archive-date= June 12, 2002 |title= N1 |publisher= Encyclopedia Astronautica |access-date=2011-09-07}}</ref> with studies beginning as early as 1959.<ref name= starbase1>{{cite web |url= http://www.starbase1.co.uk/pages/n1-project-history.html |title= The N1 Moon Rocket - a brief History |access-date= 2013-01-01 |archive-date= 2016-10-31 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161031200800/http://www.starbase1.co.uk/pages/n1-project-history.html |url-status= dead }}</ref> Its first stage, Block A, was the most powerful [[multistage rocket|rocket stage]] ever flown for over 50 years, with the record standing until [[SpaceX Starship|Starship's]] [[SpaceX Starship integrated flight test 1|first integrated flight test]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=SpaceX Official Super Heavy Specifications |url=http://www.spacex.com/ |access-date=2023-04-22 |website=SpaceX |language=en}}</ref> However, each of the four attempts to launch an N1 failed in flight, with the second attempt resulting in the vehicle crashing back onto its launch pad shortly after liftoff. Adverse characteristics of the large cluster of thirty engines and its complex fuel and oxidizer feeder systems were not revealed earlier in development because static test firings had not been conducted.<ref name="vick-mishin-diaries">{{Cite web |last1=Vick |first1=Charles P. |title=The Mishin Diaries – A western perspective |url=http://www.space2010.ru/Western_EN.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503231533/http://www.space2010.ru/Western_EN.pdf |archive-date=3 May 2023 |access-date=23 October 2019 |website=mishindiaries.com |publisher=The Perot Foundation & Moscow Aviation institute |quote="Because the first stage was so big, the decision was made to forego building a separate test facility for it, and instead to try to discover any problems with a series of full-up launches. In hindsight, this would prove to be a mistake, because each of the four launch attempts of the N-1 resulted in failure due to various problems with the first stage." }}</ref>

The '''N1-L3''' version was designed to compete with the United States [[Apollo program]] to land a person on the Moon, using a similar [[lunar orbit rendezvous]] method. The basic N1 launch vehicle had three stages, which were to carry the L3 lunar payload into low Earth orbit with two cosmonauts. The L3 contained one stage for [[trans-lunar injection]]; another stage used for mid-course corrections, [[lunar orbit]] insertion, and the first part of the descent to the lunar surface; a single-pilot [[LK (spacecraft)|LK Lander]] spacecraft; and a two-pilot [[Soyuz 7K-LOK]] lunar orbital spacecraft for return to Earth.

The N1 started development in October 1965, almost four years after the Saturn V, during which it was underfunded and rushed. The project was badly derailed by the death of its chief designer [[Sergei Korolev]] in 1966; the program was suspended in 1974 and officially canceled in 1976. All details of the [[Soviet crewed lunar programs]] were kept secret until the USSR was nearing collapse in 1989.<ref name="history-20190711">{{Cite web |last=Little |first=Becky |date=11 July 2019 |title=The Soviet Response to the Moon Landing? Denial There Was a Moon Race at All |url=https://www.history.com/news/space-race-soviet-union-moon-landing-denial |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118080644/https://www.history.com/news/space-race-soviet-union-moon-landing-denial |archive-date=18 January 2024 |website=[[History Channel]] }}</ref>

==History==
{{more citations needed section|date=July 2018}}
In 1967 the United States and the [[Soviet Union]] were in a race to be first to land a human on the [[Moon]]. The [[Soviet human lunar programs|N1/L3 program]] received formal approval in 1964, which required development of the N1 [[launch vehicle]], comparable in size to the American [[Saturn V]].<ref name="nasa-20171117">{{Cite web |last=Uri |first=John |date=17 November 2017 |title=50 Years Ago: Soviet's Moon Rocket's Rollout to Pad Affects Apollo Plans |url=https://www.nasa.gov/history/50-years-ago-soviets-moon-rockets-rollout-to-pad-affects-apollo-plans/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118202507/https://www.nasa.gov/history/50-years-ago-soviets-moon-rockets-rollout-to-pad-affects-apollo-plans/ |archive-date=18 January 2024 |access-date=30 April 2023 |publisher=[[NASA]] }}</ref>

On 25 November 1967, less than three weeks after the first Saturn V flight during the [[Apollo 4]] mission, the Soviets rolled out an N1 mockup to the newly constructed [[launch pad]] 110R at the [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]] in [[Soviet Kazakhstan]]. This Facilities Systems Logistic Test and Training Vehicle, designated 1M1, was designed to give engineers valuable experience in the rollout, launch pad integration, and rollback activities, similar to the Saturn V Facilities Integration Vehicle [[SA-500F]] testing at the [[Kennedy Space Center]] in [[Florida]] in mid-1966. While the crawler transported the Saturn V to the pad vertically, the N1 made the trip horizontally and was then raised to the vertical position at the pad – a standard practice in the [[Soviet space program]]. On December 11, after completion of various tests, the N1 rocket was lowered and rolled back to the assembly building. The 1M1 mockup was used repeatedly in the following years for additional launchpad integration tests.

Although this test was carried out in secret, a US reconnaissance satellite photographed the N1 on the pad shortly before its rollback to the assembly building. [[James E. Webb|NASA Administrator James Webb]] had access to this and other similar intelligence that showed that the Russians were seriously planning crewed [[lunar missions]]. That knowledge influenced several key US decisions in the coming months. The satellite imagery appeared to show the USSR was close to a flight test of the N1, but did not reveal that this particular rocket was just a mockup and that the USSR was many months behind the US in the race to land a human on the Moon (though, at the very least, the [[CIA]], the [[National Reconnaissance Office|NRO]], and President [[Lyndon Johnson]] ''did'' know that the rocket was a mockup per the daily presidential briefing of 27 December 1967<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/DOC_0005974192.pdf|title=The President's Daily Brief 27 December 1967|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|date=27 December 1967}}</ref>). The Soviets were hopeful that they could carry out a test flight of the N1 in the first half of 1968, but for a variety of technical reasons the attempt did not occur for more than a year.

===Early Soviet lunar concepts===
[[File:N1.stl|thumb|260x260px|Static [[3D model]] of the rocket]]
In May 1961, the US announced the goal of landing a man on the Moon by 1970. During the same month, the report ''On Reconsideration of the Plans for Space Vehicles in the Direction of Defense Purposes'' set the first test launch of the N1 rocket for 1965. In June, Korolev was given a small amount of funding to start N1 development between 1961 and 1963. At the same time, Korolev proposed a lunar mission based on the new [[Soyuz spacecraft]] using an [[Earth orbit rendezvous]] profile. Several [[Soyuz (rocket)|Soyuz]] rocket launches would be used to build up a complete Moon mission package, including one for the Soyuz spacecraft, another for the lunar lander, and a few with cislunar engines and fuel. This approach, driven by the limited capacity of the Soyuz rocket, meant that a rapid launch rate would be required to assemble the complex before any of the components ran out of consumables on-orbit. Korolev subsequently proposed that the N1 be enlarged to allow a single-launch lunar mission. In November–December 1961, Korolev and others tried to further argue that a super heavy lift rocket could deliver ultra heavy nuclear weapons, such as the just tested [[Tsar Bomba]], or many warheads (up to 17) as further justification for the N1 design.<ref name="rsw-n1icm">{{Cite web |last=Zak |first=Anatoly |date=3 November 2018 |title=Soviets mulled a colossal nuke on future Moon rocket |url=https://www.russianspaceweb.com/n1_icbm.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215022857/https://www.russianspaceweb.com/n1_icbm.html |archive-date=15 February 2024 |access-date=2 March 2021 |website=Russian Space Web }}</ref><ref name="utkin1999">{{Cite book |last=Utkin |first=V. F. |title=Otechestvennue Strategicheskie Raketnue Kompleksu |publisher=Nevskiy Bastion |year=1999 |location=St. Petersburg |language=ru |trans-title=National Strategic Missile Systems }}</ref> Korolev was not inclined to use the rocket for military uses, but wanted to fulfill his space ambitions and saw military support as vital. The military response was lukewarm – they thought the N1 had little military usefulness and was worried it would divert funds away from pure military programs. Korolev's correspondence with military leaders continued until February 1962 with little progress.

Meanwhile, [[Vladimir Chelomey|Chelomey]]'s [[OKB-52]] proposed an alternate mission with much lower risk. Instead of a crewed landing, Chelomei proposed a series of circumlunar missions to beat the US to the vicinity of the Moon. He also proposed a new booster for the mission, clustering four of his existing UR-200s (known as the [[SS-10]] in the west) to produce a single larger booster, the UR-500.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.astronautix.com/p/proton.html | title=Proton }}</ref> These plans were dropped when Glushko offered Chelomei the RD-270, which allowed the construction of the [[UR-500]] in a much simpler "monoblock" design. He also proposed adapting an existing spacecraft design for the circumlunar mission, the single-cosmonaut [[LK-1]]. Chelomei felt that improvements in early UR-500/LK-1 missions would allow the spacecraft to be adapted for two cosmonauts.

The Strategic Missile Forces of the Soviet military were reluctant to support a politically motivated project with little military utility, but both Korolev and Chelomei pushed for a lunar mission. Between 1961 and 1964, Chelomei's less aggressive proposal was accepted, and development of his UR-500 and the LK-1 were given a relatively high priority.

===Lunar N1 development starts===
[[Valentin Glushko]], who then held a near-monopoly on rocket engine design in the Soviet Union, proposed the [[RD-270]] engine using [[unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine]] (UDMH) and [[nitrogen tetroxide]] (N<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub>) propellants to power the newly enlarged N1 design. These [[hypergolic]] propellants ignite on contact, reducing the complexity of the engine, and were widely used in Glushko's existing engines on various [[ICBM]]s. The full flow [[staged combustion cycle]] RD-270 was in testing before program cancellation, achieving a higher [[specific impulse]] than the [[gas-generator cycle]] [[Rocketdyne F-1]] despite the use of UDMH/N<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> propellants with lower potential impulse. The F-1 engine was five years into its development at the time and still experiencing combustion stability problems. [[Rocketdyne]] eventually solved the F-1 instability problems by adding copper dividers as baffles,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Anderson |first1=Colleen E. |title=A New View of the Rocketdyne F-1 Engine |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/new-view-rocketdyne-f-1-engine |website=National Air and Space Museum |date=2 November 2022 |publisher=Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum |access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref> but the RD-270 still had unsolved instability problems when the N1 program was cancelled in 1974, long after the F-1 problems were solved.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wade |first1=Mark |title=RD-270 |url=http://www.astronautix.com/r/rd-270.html |website=Astronautix |publisher=Mark Wade |access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref>

Glushko pointed out that the US [[Titan II GLV]] had successfully flown crew with similar hypergolic propellants. Korolev felt that the toxic nature of the fuels and their exhaust presented a safety risk for crewed space flight, and that kerosene/LOX was a better solution. The disagreement between Korolev and Glushko over the question of fuels ultimately became a major issue that hampered progress.<ref name="astronautix-korolev">{{Cite web |last1=Wade |first1=Mark |title=Korolev, Sergei Pavlovich |url=http://www.astronautix.com/k/korolev.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211031622/http://www.astronautix.com/k/korolev.html |archive-date=11 February 2024 |access-date=19 January 2019 |website=astronautix }}</ref><ref name="lindroos2007">{{Cite web |editor-last=Lindroos |editor-first=Marcus |year=2007 |title=The Soviet Manned Lunar Program |url=https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sts-471j-engineering-apollo-the-moon-project-as-a-complex-system-spring-2007/f497346756fdcce5dae17e9106e1083e_soviet_mand_lunr.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223090852/https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sts-471j-engineering-apollo-the-moon-project-as-a-complex-system-spring-2007/f497346756fdcce5dae17e9106e1083e_soviet_mand_lunr.pdf |archive-date=23 February 2024 |access-date=19 January 2019 |website=MIT OpenCourseWare |publisher=[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] }}</ref>

Personal issues between the two played a role, with Korolev holding Glushko responsible for his incarceration at the [[Kolyma#Emergence of the Gulag camps|Kolyma Gulag]] in the 1930s and Glushko considering Korolev to be cavalier and autocratic towards things outside his competence. The difference of opinions led to a falling out between Korolev and Glushko. In 1962, a committee was appointed to resolve the dispute and agreed with Korolev. Glushko refused outright to work on LOX/kerosene engines, and with Korolev in general. Korolev eventually gave up and decided to enlist the help of [[Nikolai Dmitriyevich Kuznetsov|Nikolai Kuznetsov]], the [[Kuznetsov Design Bureau|OKB-276]] [[jet engine]] designer, while Glushko teamed up with other rocket designers to build the very successful [[Proton (rocket family)|Proton]], [[Zenit (rocket family)|Zenit]], and later [[Energia (rocket)|Energia]] rockets.

Kuznetsov, who had limited experience in rocket design, responded with the [[NK-15]], a fairly small engine that would be delivered in several versions tuned to different altitudes. To achieve the required amount of thrust, it was proposed that 30 NK-15s would be used in a clustered configuration. An outer ring of 24 engines and an inner ring of six engines would be separated by an air gap, with airflow supplied via inlets near the top of the booster. The air would be mixed with the exhaust in order to provide some degree of [[air-augmented rocket|thrust augmentation]], as well as engine cooling. The arrangement of 30 rocket engine nozzles on the N1's first stage could have been an attempt at creating a crude version of a toroidal [[aerospike engine]] system; more conventional aerospike engines were also studied.

===N1-L3 lunar complex===
[[File:N-1 L3 lunar mission profile.svg|thumb|N-1/L3 lunar mission profile]]
Korolev proposed a larger N1 combined with the new L3 lunar package based on the [[Soyuz 7K-L3]]. The L3 combined rocket stages, the modified [[Soyuz spacecraft|Soyuz]], and the new [[LK (spacecraft)|LK lunar lander]] were to be launched by a single N1 to conduct a lunar landing. Chelomei responded with a clustered UR-500-derived vehicle, topped with the [[LK-1]] spacecraft already under development, and a lander developed by his design bureau. Korolev's proposal was selected as the winner in August 1964, but Chelomei was told to continue with his circumlunar UR-500/LK-1 work.

When Khrushchev was overthrown later in 1964, infighting between the two teams started anew. In October 1965, the Soviet government ordered a compromise; the circumlunar mission would be launched on Chelomei's UR-500 using Korolev's Soyuz spacecraft [[Soyuz 7K-L1]], aka [[Zond program|Zond]] (literally "probe"), aiming for a launch in 1967, the 50th anniversary of the [[Bolshevik Revolution]]. Korolev, meanwhile, would continue with his original N1-L3 proposal. Korolev had clearly won the argument, but work on the LK-1 continued anyway, as well as the Zond.

Korolev lobbied in 1964 for a crewed circumlunar mission, which was at first rejected, but was passed with the 3 August 1964 [[Central Committee]] resolution titled "On work involving the study of the Moon and outer space", with the objective of landing a cosmonaut on the Moon in 1967 or '68.<ref name="lindroos2007" />

In January 1966, Korolev died due to complications of surgery to remove intestinal polyps that also discovered a large tumor.<ref name="esa-20070309">{{Cite web |date=9 March 2007 |title=Sergei Korolev: Father of the Soviet Union's success in space |url=https://www.esa.int/About_Us/ESA_history/50_years_of_humans_in_space/Sergei_Korolev_Father_of_the_Soviet_Union_s_success_in_space |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601184411/https://www.esa.int/About_Us/ESA_history/50_years_of_humans_in_space/Sergei_Korolev_Father_of_the_Soviet_Union_s_success_in_space |archive-date=1 June 2023 |access-date=30 April 2023 |publisher=[[European Space Agency]] }}</ref> His work on N1-L3 was taken over by his deputy, [[Vasily Mishin]], who did not have Korolev's political astuteness or influence, and was reputed to be a heavy drinker. After a few years of setbacks and four failed launches, in May 1974 Mishin was fired and replaced by Glushko, who immediately ordered the cancellation of the N1 programme and the crewed lunar mission in general, despite Mishin's assertion that the rocket will be fully operational in under two years.<ref name="acta-astro-n1">{{Cite journal |last=Lardier |first=Christian |date=1 January 2018 |title=The soviet manned lunar program N1-L3 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094576517307695 |journal=[[Acta Astronautica]] |volume=142 |pages=184–192 |bibcode=2018AcAau.142..184L |doi=10.1016/j.actaastro.2017.10.007 |issn=0094-5765 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===N1 vehicle serial numbers===
[[File:KH-8 N1.jpg|thumb|upright|N1 imaged by US [[KH-8 Gambit]] reconnaissance satellite, 19 September 1968]]
* N1 1L – full scale dynamic test model, each stage was individually dynamically tested; the full N1 stack was only tested at 1/4 scale.<ref name="SFH_N1">{{Cite web |last=Avilla |first=Aeryn |date=21 February 2020 |title=N1: The Rise and Fall of the USSR's Moon Rocket |url=https://www.spaceflighthistories.com/post/n1-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-ussr-s-moon-rocket |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223091415/https://www.spaceflighthistories.com/post/n1-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-ussr-s-moon-rocket |archive-date=23 February 2024 |access-date=30 April 2023 |website=Spaceflight Histories }}</ref>
* N1 2L (1M1) – Facilities Systems Logistic Test and Training Vehicle (FSLT & TV); two first stages painted gray, third stage gray-white and L3 white.<ref>{{cite web|title=SL-X-15, N1-L3 (1M1) on the Launch Pad|url=https://irp.fas.org/imint/4_n1l_04.htm
|publisher=Federation of American Scientists|access-date=30 April 2023}}</ref>
* N1 3L – '''first launch''', engine fire, exploded at 12&nbsp;km.<ref name="AxN1">{{Cite web |last=Wade |first=Mark |title=N1 (rocket) |url=http://www.astronautix.com/n/n1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240207065630/http://www.astronautix.com/n/n1.html |archive-date=7 February 2024 |access-date=30 April 2023 |website=astronautix.com }}</ref>
* N1 4L – Block A LOX tank developed cracks; never launched, parts from Block A used for other launchers; rest of airframe structure scrapped.<ref name="SFH_N1"/>
* N1 5L – '''second launch''', partially painted gray; first night launch, launch failure demolished pad [[Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 110|110 East]].<ref name="AxN1"/>
* N1 6L – '''third launch''', flown from the second pad 110 West, deficient roll control, destroyed after 51s.<ref name="AxN1"/>
* N1 7L – '''fourth launch''', all white, engine cutoff at {{convert|40|km|nmi}} caused propellant line [[water hammer|hammer]]ing, rupturing the fuel system.<ref name="AxN1"/>
* N1 8L and 9L – flight ready N1Fs with improved NK-33 engines in Block A, scrapped when the program was canceled.<ref name="AxN1"/><ref name="SFH_N1"/>
* N1 10L – uncompleted, scrapped along with 8L and 9L.<ref name="SFH_N1"/>

===N1F===
Mishin continued with the N1F project after the cancellation of plans for a crewed Moon landing in the hope that the booster would be used to build the [[Zvezda (moonbase)|Zvezda moonbase]]. The program was terminated in 1974 when Mishin was replaced by Glushko. Two N1Fs were being readied for launch at the time, but these plans were canceled.

The two flight-ready N1Fs were scrapped and their remains could still be found around Baikonur years later used as shelters and storage sheds. The boosters were deliberately broken up in an effort to cover up the USSR's failed Moon attempts, which was publicly stated to be a paper project in order to fool the US into thinking there was a race going on. This cover story lasted until ''[[glasnost]]'', when the remaining hardware was seen publicly on display.

===Aftermath and engines===
The program was followed by the "Vulkan" concept for a huge launch vehicle using [[Syntin]]/[[LOX]] propellants, later replaced by [[LH2]]/[[LOX]] on the 2nd and 3rd stages. "Vulkan" was superseded by the [[Energia (rocket)|Energia]]/[[Buran (spacecraft)|Buran]] program in 1976.<ref name="petrovitch-vulkan">{{Cite web |last1=Petrovitch |first1=Vassili |title=Vulkan Description |url=https://www.buran-energia.com/energia/vulcain-vulkan-desc.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111071244/https://www.buran-energia.com/energia/vulcain-vulkan-desc.php |archive-date=11 January 2024 |access-date=31 January 2015 |website=Buran-Energia.com }}</ref><ref name="astronautix-vulkan">{{Cite web |last1=Wade |first1=Mark |title=Vulkan |url=http://www.astronautix.com/v/vulkan.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214140449/http://www.astronautix.com/v/vulkan.html |archive-date=14 February 2024 |access-date=31 January 2015 |website=Astronautix.com }}</ref>

About 150 of the upgraded engines for the N1F escaped destruction. Although the rocket as a whole was unreliable, the [[NK-33]] and [[NK-43]] engines are rugged and reliable when used as a standalone unit. In the mid-1990s, Russia sold 36 engines for [[USD|$]]1.1 million each and a license for the production of new engines to the US company [[Aerojet General]].<ref name="dawson2016">{{Cite book |last=Dawson |first=Linda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=94ePDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA14 |title=The Politics and Perils of Space Exploration |date=22 November 2016 |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |isbn=978-3-319-38813-7 |page=14 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-38813-7 |lccn=2016948726 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910154449/https://books.google.com/books?id=94ePDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA14 |archive-date=10 September 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The US company [[Kistler Aerospace]] worked on incorporating these engines into a new rocket design with the intention of offering commercial launch services, but the company eventually went into bankruptcy before seeing a single launch. Aerojet also modified the NK-33 to incorporate thrust vector control capability for [[Orbital Sciences Corporation|Orbital Science]]'s [[Antares (rocket)|Antares]] launch vehicle. Antares used two of these modified AJ-26 engines for first stage propulsion. The first four launches of the Antares were successful, but on the fifth launch the rocket exploded shortly after launch. Preliminary failure analysis by Orbital pointed to a possible turbopump failure in one NK-33/AJ-26. Given Aerojet's previous problems with the NK-33/AJ-26 engine during the modification and test program (two engine failures in static test firings, one of which caused major damage to the test stand) and the later in-flight failure, Orbital decided that the NK-33/AJ-26 was not reliable enough for future use.<ref name="sfi-20141124">{{Cite web |last1=Rhian |first1=Jason |date=24 November 2014 |title=Orbital's Cygnus – on a SpaceX Falcon 9? – SpaceFlight Insider |url=http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/missions/commercial/orbitals-cygnus-spacex-falcon-9/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303002135/http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/missions/commercial/orbitals-cygnus-spacex-falcon-9/ |archive-date=3 March 2016 |access-date=13 February 2016 |website=Spaceflight Insider }}</ref>

In Russia, N1 engines were not used again until 2004, when the remaining 70 or so engines were incorporated into a new rocket design, the Soyuz 3.<ref name="harvey2007">{{Cite book |last1=Harvey |first1=Brian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kmTz6Phf5WYC&pg=PA201 |title=The Rebirth of the Russian Space Program |series=Springer Praxis Books |date=25 November 2007 |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |isbn=978-0-387-71356-4 |edition=1st |location=New York |page=201 |doi=10.1007/978-0-387-71356-4 |lccn=2007922812 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910154449/https://books.google.com/books?id=kmTz6Phf5WYC&pg=PA201 |archive-date=10 September 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="rsw-soyuz-3">{{Cite web |last1=Zak |first1=Anatoly |title=The history of the Soyuz-3 launch vehicle. |url=https://www.russianspaceweb.com/soyuz3_lv.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215021421/https://www.russianspaceweb.com/soyuz3_lv.html |archive-date=15 February 2024 |access-date=27 January 2015 |website=russianspaceweb.com }}</ref> {{As of|2005}}, the project was frozen due to the lack of funding. Instead, the NK-33 was incorporated into the first stage of a [[Soyuz-2-1v|light variant of the Soyuz rocket]], which was first launched on 28 December 2013.<ref name="s101">{{Cite web |title=Soyuz 2-1v |url=https://spaceflight101.com/spacerockets/soyuz-2-1v/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422152435/https://spaceflight101.com/spacerockets/soyuz-2-1v/ |archive-date=22 April 2023 |access-date=28 December 2013 |website=Spaceflight 101 }}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Носитель 1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Scheme of the rocket stages (in Russian)]]

The N1 stood {{convert|105|m|ft|sp=us}} tall with its L3 payload. The N1-L3 consisted of five stages in total: the first three (N1) for insertion into a low Earth parking orbit, and another two (L3) for [[translunar injection]] and lunar orbit insertion. Fully loaded and fueled, the N1-L3 weighed {{convert|2750|t|lb}}. The lower three stages were shaped to produce a single [[frustum]] {{convert|17|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} wide at the base,<ref name="Soviet N1 moon booster" /> while the L3 section was mostly cylindrical, carried inside a shroud an estimated {{convert|3.5|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} wide.<ref>{{cite wikisource| last = Portree
 | first = David S.F.
 | title = Mir Hardware Heritage
 | place = Houston TX
 | publisher = NASA
 | series = NASA Reference Publication 1357
 | volume = 95
 | pages = 23249
 |date=March 1995
 | chapter = Part 1 - Soyuz
 | wslink = Mir Hardware Heritage
 | anchor = 1.2.1_First_Prospectus_for_Circumlunar_Travel_.281962.29
 }}
* {{cite book
 |title= The Race: The uncensored story of how America beat Russia to the Moon
 |last= Schefter
 |first= James
|date= 1999
 |publisher= [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]
 |location= New York
 |isbn= 0-385-49253-7
 |url= https://archive.org/details/raceuncensored00sche
|url-access= registration
 }}</ref> The conical shaping of the lower stages was due to the arrangement of the tanks within, a smaller spherical kerosene tank on top of the larger liquid oxygen tank below.

During the N1's lifetime, a series of improved engines was introduced to replace those used in the original design. The resulting modified N1 was known as the N1F, but did not fly before the project's cancellation.

===Block A first stage===
The first stage, '''Block A''', was powered by 30 NK-15 engines arranged in two rings, the main ring of 24 at the outer edge of the booster and the core propulsion system consisting of the inner 6 engines at about half diameter.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Capdevila |first1=Didier |title=N1 Block A Motors |url=http://www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_sovietique/programme_lunaire/N1%20block%20A%20moteurs.jpg |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910154450/http://www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_sovietique/programme_lunaire/N1%20block%20A%20moteurs.jpg |archive-date=10 September 2023 |access-date=18 February 2015 |website=CapcomEspace.com |publisher=capcom espace, l'encyclopédie de l' espace – 2000–2012 Didier Capdevila }}</ref> The control system was primarily based on differential throttling of the engines of the outer ring for pitch and yaw. The core propulsion system was not used for control.<ref name="sp-2011-4110">{{Cite book |editor-last=Siddiqi |editor-first=Asif A. |last1=Chertok |first1=Boris E. |url=https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/621513main_rocketspeoplevolume4-ebook.pdf?emrc=4d370f |title=Rockets and people |publisher=[[NASA]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-16-089559-3 |series=NASA History Series |volume=IV |location=Washington, DC |page=199 |lccn=2004020825 |id=SP-2011-4110 |access-date=21 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223093021/https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/621513main_rocketspeoplevolume4-ebook.pdf?emrc=4d370f |archive-date=23 February 2024 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Block A also included four [[grid fins]], which were later used on Soviet [[air-to-air missile]] designs.

In total, the Block A produced {{Convert|45400|kN|lbf|abbr=on}} of thrust, the most powerful rocket stage flown to date.<ref name="harford-1997" />{{rp|page=199}}<ref name="NASA">{{Cite book |last1=Seamans |first1=Robert C. Jr. |url=https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/sp-4537.pdf#page=134 |title=Project Apollo: The Tough Decisions |date=2007 |publisher=[[NASA]] |isbn=978-0-16-086710-1 |series=Monographs in Aerospace History |location=Washington D.C. |page=120 |lccn=2005003682 |id=SP-2007-4537 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213112823/https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/sp-4537.pdf#page=134 |archive-date=13 February 2024 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="astronautix">{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/n1.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020612070438/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/n1.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 12, 2002|title=N1|last=Wade|first=Mark|date=1997–2008|publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica|access-date=2009-04-25}}</ref> This exceeded the {{convert|33700|kN|lbf|abbr=on}} thrust of the Saturn V,<ref name="astronautix_sv">{{Cite web |last=Wade |first=Mark |title=Saturn V |url=http://www.astronautix.com/s/saturnv.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240207065654/http://www.astronautix.com/s/saturnv.html |archive-date=7 February 2024 |access-date=25 April 2009 |website=Encyclopedia Astronautica }}</ref> and the record would stand for over half a century, until the [[SpaceX Super Heavy]] surpassed it in 2023.<ref name="nsf-20230222">{{Cite news |last=Beil |first=Adrian |date=22 February 2023 |title=Delving Deeper: Super Heavy thrust and counting down to flight |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2023/02/starship-delving-deeper/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928183847/https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2023/02/starship-delving-deeper/ |archive-date=28 September 2023 |access-date=10 March 2023 |work=[[NASASpaceFlight.com]] }}</ref>

====Engine control system====
The KORD (Russian acronym for {{lang|ru-Latn|Kontrol Raketnykh Dvigateley}}{{snd}}literally "Control (of) Rocket Engines"{{snd}}{{lang|ru|Контроль ракетных двигателей}})<ref name="radian-spb">{{Cite web |script-title=ru:Контроль ракетных двигателей |trans-title=Monitoring the Functioning of the Elements of Rocket Engines |url=https://radian-spb.ru/projects/monitoring_the_functioning_of_the_elements_of_rocket_engines/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230921115923/http://radian-spb.ru/projects/monitoring_the_functioning_of_the_elements_of_rocket_engines/ |archive-date=21 September 2023 |access-date=3 February 2015 |website=radian-spb.ru |publisher=2014 RADIAN |language=ru }}</ref> was the automatic engine control system devised to throttle, shut down and monitor the large cluster of 30 engines in Block A (the first stage). The KORD system controlled the differential thrusting of the outer ring of 24 engines for [[Aircraft principal axes|pitch and yaw]] attitude control by throttling them appropriately and it also shut down malfunctioning engines situated opposite each other. This was to negate the pitch or yaw [[Moment (physics)|moment]] diametrically opposing engines in the outer ring would generate, thus maintaining symmetrical thrust. Block A could perform nominally with two pairs of opposing engines shut down (26/30 engines). Unfortunately the KORD system was unable to react to rapidly occurring processes such as the exploding turbo-pump during the second launch.<ref name="harford-1997" />{{rp|page=294}}

Due to the deficiencies of the KORD system, a new computer system was developed for the fourth and last launch. The ''S-530'' was the first Soviet digital guidance and control system,<ref name="Saturn Digital Telemetry">{{cite book | last = Gainor | first = Chris | title = Arrows to the Moon | date = 2001 | publisher = Apogee Books | location = Burlington, Ontario | isbn = 978-1-896522-83-8 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/arrowstomoonavro0000gain/page/155 155ñ156] | url = https://archive.org/details/arrowstomoonavro0000gain/page/155 }}</ref> and unlike the KORD, which was essentially just an analogue engine control system, the S-530 supervised all control tasks in the launch vehicle and spacecraft, of which the N1 carried two, one located in the Block V third stage that controlled the engines for the first three stages. The second S-530 was located in the Soyuz LOK command module and provided control for the rest of the mission from [[Trans-lunar injection|TLI]] to lunar flyby and return to Earth.<ref name="CSSP">{{Cite web |last1=Gerovitch |first1=Slava |title=Computing in the Soviet Space Program: An Introduction |url=https://web.mit.edu/slava/space/introduction.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115063313/http://web.mit.edu/slava/space/introduction.htm |archive-date=15 January 2024 |access-date=21 October 2019 |website=Department of Mathematics Massachusetts Institute of Technology |publisher=[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] }}</ref><ref name="N1-7L">{{cite web |last1=Wade |first1=Mark |title=N1 7L State Commission |url=http://astronautix.com/d/details51205.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018053341/http://www.astronautix.com/d/details51205.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 18, 2016 |website=astronuatix |date=1997–2017 |access-date=21 October 2019}}</ref>

===Block B second stage===
The second stage, '''Block B''', was powered by 8 NK-15V engines arranged in a single ring. The only major difference between the NK-15 and -15V was the engine bell and various tunings for air-start and high-altitude performance. The N1F Block B replaced the NK-15 engines with upgraded [[NK-43]] engines.

Block B could withstand the shutdown of one pair of opposing engines (6/8 engines).<ref name="harford-1997" />{{rp|page=294}}

===Block V third stage===
The upper stage, '''Block V''' ([[Ve (Cyrillic)|В]]/''V'' being the third letter in the [[Russian alphabet]]), mounted four smaller NK-21 engines in a square. The N1F Block V replaced the NK-21 engines with NK-31 engines.

Block V could function with one engine shut down and three functioning correctly.<ref name="harford-1997" />{{rp|page=294}}

=== Assembly, transport, erection, on-pad-servicing ===
The N-1 was assembled horizontally, then moved on a transporter to the launch pad, and erected. There was a service tower/gantry at the pad with umbilical connections for liquid fuelling.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nick-stevens.com/2016/09/14/identifying-the-different-n-1-variants/|title=Identifying the different N-1 variants.|date=14 September 2016|website=Nick Stevens Graphics}}</ref>

===Development problems===
The complex plumbing needed to feed fuel and oxidizer into the clustered arrangement of rocket engines was fragile and a major factor in 2 of the 4 launch failures. Unlike [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39]], the N1's [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]] could not be reached by heavy barge. To allow transport by rail, all of the stages had to be shipped in pieces and assembled at the launch site. This led to difficulties in testing that contributed to the N1's lack of success.

The NK-15 engines had a number of valves that were activated by pyrotechnics rather than hydraulic or mechanical means, this being a weight-saving measure. Once shut, the valves could not be re-opened.<ref name="harford-1997" />{{rp|page=304}} This meant that the engines for Block A were only test-fired individually and the entire cluster of 30 engines was never static test fired as a unit. [[Sergei Khrushchev]] stated that only two out of every batch of six engines were tested, and not the units actually intended for use in the booster. As a result, the complex and destructive vibrational modes (which ripped apart propellant lines and turbines), as well as exhaust plume and fluid dynamic problems (causing vehicle roll, vacuum cavitation, and other problems), in Block A were not discovered and worked out before flight.<ref name="energia-complex-n1-l3">{{Cite web |title=Complex N1-L3 – Tests |url=http://www.energia.ru/en/history/systems/vehicles/vehicle_n1-l3_e.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302015735/http://www.energia.ru/en/history/systems/vehicles/vehicle_n1-l3_e.html |archive-date=2 March 2021 |access-date=30 January 2015 |website=S.P. Korlev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia – History |publisher=[[Energia (corporation)|RSC Energia]] }}</ref> Blocks B and V were static test fired as complete units.

While trying to find ways for more performance, research was conducted on the feasibility of using an aerospike engine in the first stage. To achieve this, they would lower the initial 30 NK15-F engines to 24 engines around the rim, leaving the center free. Their goal was to achieve better performance at sea level. Further concepts removed the NK-15Fs altogether and replace them with a radical annular combustion chamber. This chamber would surround the aerospike in its entirety. However, both ideas were thrown out as the calculated performance gains didn't outweigh the additional mass and complexities of the different engines.<ref name="AxN1" />

Because of its technical difficulties and lack of funding for a comprehensive test campaign, the N1 never completed a test flight. Twelve test flights were planned, with only four flown. All four uncrewed launches ended in failure before first-stage separation. The longest flight lasted 107 seconds, just before first-stage separation. Two test launches occurred in 1969, one in 1971, and the final one in 1972.

===Comparison with Saturn V===
{{Further|Saturn V}}
[[Image:N1+Saturn5.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|A comparison of the US Saturn V rocket (left) with the Soviet N1/L3. Note: human at bottom illustrates scale]]
At {{convert|105|m|ft|sp=us}}, the N1-L3 was slightly shorter than the American [[Apollo (spacecraft)|Apollo]]-[[Saturn V]] ({{convert|363|ft|m|order=flip|sp=us|disp=comma}}). The N-1 had a smaller overall diameter but a greater maximum diameter ({{convert|17|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on|disp=x|/}} vs. {{convert|33|ft|m|order=flip|sp=us|abbr=on|disp=x|/}}). The N1 produced more thrust in each of its first three stages than the corresponding stages of the Saturn V. The N1-L3 produced more [[impulse (physics)|total impulse]] in its first four stages than the Saturn V did in its three (see table below).

The N1 was intended to place the approximately {{convert|95|t|lb|abbr=on|sp=us|adj=on}} L3 payload into [[low Earth orbit]],<ref name="harford-1997">{{Cite book |last1=Harford |first1=James |title=Korolev: how one man masterminded the Soviet drive to beat America to the moon |date=1997 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-471-32721-9 |location=New York; Chichester|lccn=96035311 |oclc=35567023 |ol=7612528M }}</ref>{{rp|page=271}} with the fourth stage included in the L3 complex intended to place {{convert|23.5|t|lb|abbr=on|adj=on|sp=us}} into translunar orbit. In comparison, the Saturn V placed the roughly {{convert|100000|lb|t|abbr=on|adj=on|order=flip|sp=us}} Apollo spacecraft plus about {{convert|164100|lb|t|abbr=on|order=flip|sp=us}} of fuel remaining in the [[S-IVB]] third stage for [[translunar injection]] into a similar Earth parking orbit.

The N1 used [[RP-1|kerosene-based rocket fuel]] in all three of its main stages, while the Saturn V used [[liquid hydrogen]] to fuel its second and third stages, which yielded an overall performance advantage due to the higher [[specific impulse]]. The N1 also wasted available propellant volume by using spherical propellant tanks under a roughly conical external skin, while the Saturn V used most of its available cylindrical skin volume to house capsule-shaped hydrogen and oxygen tanks, with common bulkheads between the tanks in the second<ref name="cerquettini-s-ii">{{cite web |last1=Cerquettini |first1=C. Tony |title=The Common Bulkhead for the Saturn S-II Vehicle |url=http://libarchstor2.uah.edu/digitalcollections/files/original/20/11065/Commbulk_022508152321.pdf |publisher=[[North American Aviation]] |access-date=23 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223101504/http://libarchstor2.uah.edu/digitalcollections/files/original/20/11065/Commbulk_022508152321.pdf |archive-date=23 February 2024 |date=1967 |url-status=live}}</ref> and third stages.<ref name="robertson-brown-s-iv">{{cite conference |last1=Robertson |first1=A. C. |last2=Brown |first2=E. L. |title=Development of a bonded common bulkhead for Saturn |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19660024836/downloads/19660024836.pdf#page=279 |conference=Structural Adhesive Bonding Conference |publisher=[[NASA]] & [[Douglas Aircraft Company]] |location=Huntsville, Alabama |date=March 1966 |page=1 (279) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223100137/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19660024836/downloads/19660024836.pdf#page=279 |archive-date=23 February 2024 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The N1-L3 would have been able to convert only 9.3% of its three-stage total impulse into Earth orbit payload [[momentum]] (compared to 12.14% for the Saturn V), and only 3.1% of its four-stage total impulse into translunar payload momentum, compared to 6.2% for the Saturn V.

The Saturn V also never lost a payload in two development and eleven operational launches, while four N1 development launch attempts all resulted in catastrophic failure, with two payload losses.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!  !! Apollo-Saturn V<ref>Orloff, Richard W (2001). [https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_00_Welcome.htm ''Apollo By The Numbers: A Statistical Reference.''] NASA. Also [https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20010008244_2001006037.pdf PDF format]. Accessed February 19, 2008 Published by Government Reprints Press, 2001, {{ISBN|1-931641-00-5}}.</ref>
 
! N1-L3
|-
| Diameter, maximum|| {{convert|33|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} || {{convert|17|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|-
| Height w/ payload|| {{convert|363|ft|m|sp=us|abbr=on|order=flip}} ||| {{convert|105|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}}
|-
| Gross weight || {{convert|6478000|lb|t|abbr=on|order=flip}} || {{convert|2750|t|lb|abbr=on}}<ref name="harford-1997" />{{rp|page=199}}
|-
| '''First stage''' || style="text-align:center;"| '''S-IC''' || style="text-align:center;"| '''Block A'''
|-
| Thrust, SL || {{convert|7500000|lbf|kN|abbr=on|order=flip}} || {{Convert|45400|kN|lbf|abbr=on}}<ref name="harford-1997" />{{rp|page=199}}<ref name="NASA"/>
|-
| Burn time|| 168 seconds || 125 seconds
|-
| '''Second stage''' || style="text-align:center;"| '''S-II''' || style="text-align:center;"| '''Block B'''
|-
| Thrust, vac || {{convert|1155800|lbf|kN|abbr=on|order=flip}} || {{convert|14040|kN|lbf|abbr=on}}
|-
| Burn time || 384 seconds || 120 seconds
|-
| '''Orbital insertion stage''' || style="text-align:center;"| '''S-IVB (burn 1)''' || style="text-align:center;"| '''Block V'''
|-
| Thrust, vac || {{convert|202600|lbf|kN|abbr=on|order=flip}} || {{convert|1610|kN|lbf|abbr=on}}
|-
| Burn time || 147 seconds || 370 seconds
|-
| Total [[impulse (physics)|impulse]]<ref name="impulseNote" group=Note>Neglects first stage thrust increase with altitude</ref> || 7,711,000&nbsp;kilonewton·seconds (1,733,600,000&nbsp;pound·seconds) || 7,956,000&nbsp;kilonewton·seconds (1,789,000,000&nbsp;pound·seconds)
|-
| Orbital payload || {{convert|264900|lb|kg|abbr=on|order=flip}}<ref group=Note>Includes mass of Earth departure fuel</ref> || {{convert|95000|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
|-
| Injection velocity || {{convert|25568|ft/s|m/s|sp=us|abbr=on|order=flip}} || {{convert|7793|m/s|ft/s|sp=us|abbr=on}}<ref name="identicalNote" group=Note>Assumed identical to Saturn V value</ref>
|-
| Payload momentum || 936,300,000&nbsp;kilogram·meters per second (210,500,000 slug·feet per second) || 740,300,000&nbsp;kilogram·meters per second (166,440,000 slug·feet per second)
|-
| [[Propulsive efficiency]] || 12.14% || 9.31%
|-
| '''Earth departure stage''' || style="text-align:center;"| '''S-IVB [[Trans-lunar injection|(burn 2)]]''' || style="text-align:center;"| '''Block G'''
|-
| Thrust, vac || {{convert|201100|lbf|kN|abbr=on|order=flip}} || {{convert|446|kN|lbf|abbr=on}}
|-
| Burn time || 347 seconds || 443 seconds
|-
| Total [[impulse (physics)|impulse]]<ref name="impulseNote" group=Note/> || 8,022,000&nbsp;kilonewton·seconds (1,803,400,000&nbsp;pound·seconds) || 8,153,000&nbsp;kilonewton·seconds (1,833,000,000&nbsp;pound·seconds)
|-
| Translunar payload || {{convert|100740|lb|kg|abbr=on|order=flip}} || {{convert|23500|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
|-
| Injection velocity || {{convert|35545|ft/s|m/s|sp=us|abbr=on|order=flip}} || {{convert|10834|m/s|ft/s|sp=us|abbr=on}}<ref name="identicalNote" group=Note/>

|-
| Payload momentum || 495,000,000&nbsp;kilogram·meters per second (111,290,000 slug·feet per second) || 254,600,000&nbsp;kilogram·meters per second (57,240,000 slug·feet per second)
|-
| Propulsive efficiency|| 6.17%|| 3.12%
|}

== Launch history ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Flight number
! Date (UTC)
! Launch site
! Serial no.
! Payload
! Outcome
! Remarks
|-
|1
|21 February 1969<br />09:18:07
|[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]] [[Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 110|Site 110/38]]
|3L
|Zond L1S-1
|{{Failure}}
|
|-
|2
|3 July 1969<br />20:18:32
|[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]] [[Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 110|Site 110/38]]
|5L
|Zond L1S-2
|{{Failure}}
|Destroyed launch pad 110 East
One of the [[Largest artificial non-nuclear explosions#Largest accidental artificial non-nuclear explosions by magnitude|largest accidental artificial non-nuclear explosions]] in history.
|-
|3
|26 June 1971<br />23:15:08
|[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]] [[Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 110|Site 110/37]]
|6L
|Soyuz 7K-L1E No.1
|{{Failure}}
|
|-
|4
|23 November 1972<br />06:11:55
|[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]] [[Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 110|Site 110/37]]
|7L
|Soyuz 7K-LOK No.1
|{{Failure}}
|
|-
|}

===First failure, serial 3L===
February 21, 1969: serial number 3L – Zond L1S-1 (Soyuz 7K-L1S (Zond-M) modification of [[Soyuz 7K-L1|Soyuz 7K-L1 "Zond"]] spacecraft) for Moon flyby.

A few seconds into launch, a transient [[voltage]] caused the [[#Engine_control_system|KORD]] to shut down Engine #12. After this happened, the KORD shut off Engine #24 to maintain symmetrical thrust. At T+6 seconds, [[pogo oscillation]] in the #2 engine tore several components off their mounts and started a propellant leak.{{citation_needed|date=December 2023}} At T+25 seconds, further vibrations ruptured a fuel line and caused [[RP-1]] to spill into the aft section of the booster. When it came into contact with the leaking gas, a fire started. The fire then burned through wiring in the power supply, causing electrical arcing that was picked up by sensors and interpreted by the KORD as a pressurization problem in the turbopumps. The KORD responded by issuing a general command to shut down the entire first stage at T+68 seconds into launch. This signal was also transmitted up to the second and third stages, "locking" them and preventing a manual ground command from being sent to start their engines. Telemetry also showed that the power generators in the N-1 continued functioning until the impact with the ground at T+183 seconds.

Investigators discovered the remains of the rocket 52 kilometers (32 miles) from the launch pad. Vasily Mishin had initially blamed the generators for the failure, as he could not think of any other reason why all 30 engines would shut down at once, but this was quickly disproven by telemetry data and the recovery of the generators from the crash site. They had survived in good condition and were shipped back to the Istra plant, where they were refurbished and worked without any problems under bench testing. The investigative team did not speculate as to whether the burning first stage could have continued flying if the KORD system had not shut it down.

The KORD was found to have a number of serious design flaws and poorly programmed logic. One unforeseen flaw was that its operating frequency, 1000&nbsp;Hz, happened to perfectly coincide with vibration generated by the propulsion system, and the shutdown of Engine #12 at liftoff was believed to have been caused by pyrotechnic devices opening a valve, which produced a high-frequency oscillation that went into adjacent wiring and was assumed by the KORD to be an overspeed condition in the engine's turbopump. The wiring in Engine #12 was believed to be particularly vulnerable to this effect due to its length; however, other engines had similar wiring and were unaffected. Also, the system's operating voltage increased to 25 V instead of the nominal 15 V. The control wiring was relocated and coated with asbestos for fireproofing and the operating frequency changed.<ref name="Buran">[http://www.buran.ru/htm/gud%2019.htm Raketno-kosmicheskii kompleks N1-L3, book: Гудилин В.Е., Слабкий Л.И.] ([[:ru:Слабкий Леонид Ильич|Слабкий Л.И.]]) (Gudilin V., Slabkiy L.) "Ракетно-космические системы (История. Развитие. Перспективы)", М., 1996</ref><ref>
{{cite web
 |last        = Wade
 |first       = Mark
 |title       = 1969.02.21 – N1 3L launch
 |url         = http://www.astronautix.com/details/n13h5173.htm
 |website     = Encyclopedia Astronautica
 |access-date  = 5 February 2015
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140805134523/http://astronautix.com/details/n13h5173.htm
 |archive-date = 5 August 2014
}}
</ref> The [[launch escape system]] was activated and did its job properly, saving the mockup spacecraft. All subsequent flights had freon fire extinguishers installed next to every engine.<ref>
{{cite book
 | last = Harvey
 | first = Brian
 | title = Soviet and Russian lunar exploration
 | date = 2007
 | publisher = Springer
 | location = Berlin
 | isbn = 978-0387739762
 | page = 222
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nVeY7vMCtOkC&pg=PA222
}}
</ref><ref name="German">
{{cite web
 | url = http://www.bernd-leitenberger.de/hercules.shtml
 | title = Die russische Mondrakete N-1 (in German)}}
</ref> According to [[Sergey Afanasyev (engineer)|Sergei Afanasiev]], the logic of the command to shut down the entire cluster of 30 engines in Block A was incorrect in that instance, as the subsequent investigation revealed.<ref name="harford-1997" />{{rp|page=294}}<ref>
{{cite web
 | last = Zak
 | first = Anatoly
 | title = N1 No. 3L launch
 | url = http://www.russianspaceweb.com/n1_3l.html
 | website = RussianSpaceWeb.com
 | publisher = Anatoly Zak
 | access-date = 5 February 2015
}}
</ref>

{{Anchor|N1-1969-Failures}} <!-- Do not delete this code as it is used to link to this location from other articles. Rp2006-->

===Second failure, serial 5L===
Serial number 5L – [[Zond L1S-2]] for Moon orbit and flyby and intended photography of possible crewed landing sites.

The second N-1 vehicle was launched on 3 July 1969 and carried a modified L1 Zond spacecraft and live escape tower. Boris Chertok claimed that a mass model lunar module was also carried; however, most sources indicate that only the L1S-2 and boost stages were on board N-1 5L. Launch took place at 23:18 Moscow time from launch pad [[Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 110|110 East]]. The flight lasted only a few moments; as soon as it cleared the tower, there was a flash of light, and debris could be seen falling from the bottom of the first stage. All engines instantly shut down except engine #18. This caused the N-1 to lean over at a 45-degree angle and drop back onto the pad.<ref>{{cite web|title=N1 (vehicle 5L) moon rocket Test – launch abort system activated|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyoBHBOnscY&noredirect=1|website=YouTube.com|publisher=2015 YouTube, LLC|access-date=12 January 2015}}</ref> The nearly 2300 tons of propellant on board triggered a massive blast and shock wave that shattered windows across the launch complex and sent debris flying as far as 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the center of the explosion. Launch crews were permitted outside half an hour after the accident and encountered droplets of unburnt fuel still raining down from the sky. The majority of the N-1's propellant load had not been consumed in the accident, and most of what had burned had been in the first stage of the rocket. However, the worst-case scenario, mixing of the fuel and LOX to form an explosive gel, had not occurred. The subsequent investigation revealed that up to 85% of the propellant on board the rocket had not detonated, reducing the force of the blast.<ref name="rsw-n1-5l">{{Cite web |last1=Zak |first1=Anatoly |date=6 November 2014 |title=The second launch of the N1 rocket (Largest explosion in space history rocks Tyuratam) – The aftermath |url=https://www.russianspaceweb.com/n1_5l.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223091457/https://www.russianspaceweb.com/n1_5l.html |archive-date=23 February 2024 |access-date=24 May 2015 |website=RussianSpaceWeb.com }}</ref>
The launch escape system had activated at the moment of engine shutdown (T+15 seconds) and pulled the L1S-2 capsule to safety 2.0 kilometers (1.2 miles) away. Impact with the pad occurred at T+23 seconds. Launch Complex 110 East was thoroughly leveled by the blast, with the concrete pad caved in and one of the lighting towers knocked over and twisted around itself. Despite the devastation, most of the telemetry tapes were found intact in the debris field and examined.

It was found that the LOX turbopump in the #8 engine had exploded just before liftoff. (The pump was recovered from the debris and found to have signs of fire and melting). The resultant shock wave severed surrounding propellant lines and started a fire from leaking fuel. The fire had damaged various components in the thrust section<ref name="harford-1997"/>{{rp|page=295}} leading to the engines gradually being shut down between T+10 and T+12 seconds. The KORD had shut off engines #7, #19, #20, and #21 after detecting abnormal pressure and pump speeds. Telemetry did not provide any explanation as to what shut off the other engines. Engine #18, which had caused the booster to lean over 45 degrees, continued operating until impact, something engineers were never able to satisfactorily explain.

Why the #8 turbopump had exploded could not be determined exactly. Working theories were that either a piece of a pressure sensor had broken off and lodged in the pump, or that its [[impeller]] blades had rubbed against the metal casing, creating a friction spark that had ignited the LOX. The #8 engine had operated erratically prior to shutdown and a pressure sensor detected "incredible force" in the pump. Vasily Mishin believed that a pump rotor had disintegrated, but Kuznetsov argued that the NK-15 engines were entirely blameless and Mishin, who had defended the use of Kuznetsov's engines two years earlier, could not publicly come out and challenge him. Kuznetsov succeeded in getting the postflight investigative committee to rule the cause of the engine failure as "ingestion of foreign debris".
After this flight, fuel filters were installed in later models.<ref name=German/>
Vladimir Barmin, chief director of launch facilities at Baikonur, also argued that the KORD should be locked for the first 15–20 seconds of flight to prevent a shutdown command from being issued until the booster had cleared the pad area.<ref>
{{Citation
 | last = Williams
 | first = David
 | title = Tentatively Identified Missions and Launch Failures
 | publisher = NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
 | date = 6 January 2005
 | url = http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/tent_launch.html
 | access-date = 17 May 2013
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
 | last = Reynolds
 | first = David West
 | title = Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon
 | date = 2002
 | publisher = Tahabi Books
 | location = San Diego, CA
 | isbn = 0-15-100964-3
 | page = [https://archive.org/details/apolloepicjourne00reyn/page/162 162]
 | url = https://archive.org/details/apolloepicjourne00reyn/page/162
 }}
</ref>
The destroyed complex was photographed by American satellites, disclosing to the Western World that the Soviet Union had been constructing a Moon rocket.<ref name=German/>
It took 18 months to rebuild the launch pad and delayed launches. The explosion had been visible that evening 35 kilometres (22 miles) away at [[Baikonur|Leninsk]] (See [[Tyuratam]]).<ref>
{{cite web
 |last        = Wade
 |first       = Mark
 |title       = 1969.07.03 – N1 5L launch
 |url         = http://www.astronautix.com/details/n15h5170.htm
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20141024080653/http://www.astronautix.com/details/n15h5170.htm
 |archive-date = 2014-10-24
 |website     = astronautix.com
 |publisher   = Encyclopedia Astronautica
 |access-date  = 2 February 2018
 |url-status     = dead
}}
</ref>

===Third failure, serial 6L===
June 26, 1971: serial number 6L – dummy [[Soyuz 7K-LOK]] ([[Soyuz 7K-L1E]] No.1) and dummy [[LK (spacecraft)|LK]] module-spacecraft

Soon after lift-off, due to unexpected [[Eddy (fluid dynamics)|eddies]] and counter-currents at the base of Block A (the first stage), the N-1 experienced an uncontrolled roll beyond the capability of the control system to compensate. The KORD computer sensed an abnormal situation and sent a shutdown command to the first stage, but as noted above, the guidance program had since been modified to prevent this from happening until 50 seconds into launch. The roll, which had initially been 6° per second, began rapidly accelerating. At T+39 seconds, the booster was rolling at nearly 40° per second, causing the [[inertial guidance system]] to go into [[gimbal lock]] and at T+48 seconds, the vehicle disintegrated from structural loads. The interstage truss between the second and third stages twisted apart and the latter separated from the stack and at T+50 seconds, the cutoff command to the first stage was unblocked and the engines immediately shut down. The upper stages impacted about 7 kilometers (4 miles) from the launch complex. Despite the engine shutoff, the first and second stages still had enough momentum to travel for some distance before falling to earth about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the launch complex and blasting a {{convert|50|ft|m|adj=mid|-deep|abbr=off|sp=us|order=flip}} crater in the steppe.<ref name="harford-1997" />{{rp|page=298}} This N1 had dummy upper stages without the rescue system.<ref name="German"/><ref name=C-N1-L3-L/>

The next, last vehicle would have a much more powerful stabilization system with dedicated engines (in the previous versions stabilization was done by directing exhaust from the main engines). The engine control system would also be reworked, increasing the number of sensors from 700 to 13,000.<ref name="German"/><ref name=C-N1-L3-L>{{cite web
 | title = Complex N1-L3 – Launches
 | url = http://www.energia.ru/en/history/systems/vehicles/vehicle_n1-l3_l.html
 | website = S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia
 | publisher = 2000–2013 Official website of S.P. Korolev RSC Energia
 | access-date = 21 February 2015
 | archive-date = 4 March 2016
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030341/http://www.energia.ru/en/history/systems/vehicles/vehicle_n1-l3_l.html
 | url-status = dead
 }}</ref>

===Fourth failure, serial 7L===
November 23, 1972: serial number 7L – regular [[Soyuz 7K-LOK]] (Soyuz 7K-LOK No.1) and dummy [[LK (spacecraft)|LK]] module-spacecraft for Moon flyby<ref name="CIB19720912page11">{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/files/declassification/iscap/pdf/2018-072-doc1.pdf|title=Central Intelligence Bulletin: USSR 12 Sep 72, 7|publisher=CIA|year=1972}}</ref>

Debut of the S-530 digital control system (in the third stage) which superseded the KORD analog system.<ref name="Saturn Digital Telemetry"/><ref name=CSSP/><ref name=N1-7L/>

The start and lift-off went well. At T+90 seconds, a programmed shutdown of the core propulsion system (the six center engines) was performed to [[Max Q|reduce structural stress on the booster]]. Because of excessive dynamic loads caused by a [[Water hammer|hydraulic shock wave]] when the six engines were shut down abruptly, lines for feeding fuel and oxidizer to the core propulsion system burst and a fire started in the boattail of the booster; in addition, the #4 engine exploded. The first stage broke up starting at T+107 seconds and all telemetry data ceased at T+110 seconds. The launch escape system activated and pulled the Soyuz 7K-LOK to safety. The upper stages were ejected from the stack and crashed into the steppe. An investigation revealed that the abrupt shutdown of the engines led to fluctuations in the fluid columns of the feeder pipes, which ruptured and spilled fuel and oxidizer onto the shut down, but still hot, engines. A failure of the #4 engine turbopump was also suspected. It was believed that the launch could have been salvaged had ground controllers sent a manual command to jettison the first stage and begin second stage burn early as the stage failed only 15 seconds before it was due to separate at T+125 seconds and it had reached the nominal burn time of 110 seconds according to the cyclogram.<ref name=MSM-N-1>{{cite web |title=Nositel N-1 Launch Vehicle |url=http://www.myspacemuseum.com/n1.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120524095855/http://www.myspacemuseum.com/n1.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 May 2012 |website=myspacemuseum.com/n1.htm |publisher=spacey@interaxs.net |access-date=20 November 2019}}</ref><ref name="harford-1997" />{{rp|page=300}}<ref name="N1-7L" />

===Canceled fifth launch===
Vehicle serial number 8L was prepared for August 1974. It included a regular 7K-LOK [[Soyuz 7K-LOK]] and a regular LK module-spacecraft of the L3 lunar expedition complex. It was intended for a Moon flyby and uncrewed landing in preparation for a future crewed mission. As the [[N1-L3]] program was canceled in May 1974, this launch never took place.<ref name="astronautix-l3m-1972">{{Cite web |last1=Wade |first1=Mark |title=L3M-1972 |url=http://www.astronautix.com/l/l3m-1972.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001030919/http://www.astronautix.com/l/l3m-1972.html |archive-date=1 October 2023 |access-date=18 October 2019 |website=astronautix.com |ref=1974 May 1 – Launch Vehicle: N1. N1 cancellation imminent }}</ref><ref name="astronautix-n1f">{{Cite web |last1=Wade |first1=Mark |title=N1F |url=http://www.astronautix.com/n/n1f.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129225537/http://www.astronautix.com/n/n1f.html |archive-date=29 November 2023 |access-date=18 October 2019 |website=astronautix.com |ref=1974 May 2 – N1-L3 program is cancelled }}</ref>

==Confusion on L3 designation==
There is confusion among Russian online sources as to whether N1-L3 (Russian: Н1-Л3) or N1-LZ (Russian: Н1-ЛЗ) was intended, because of [[homoglyph|the similarity]] of the [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] letter [[Ze (Cyrillic)|Ze]] for "Z" and the numeral "3". Sometimes both forms are used within the same Russian website (or even the same article).<ref name = "Buran" /> English sources refer only to N1-L3. The correct designation is L3, representing one of the five branches of Soviet lunar exploration. Stage 1 (Л1) was planned as a crewed circumlunar flight (partially realized in the [[Zond program]]); stage 2 (Л2) was an uncrewed lunar rover (realized in [[Lunokhod programme|Lunokhod]]); stage 3 (Л3) was to have been a crewed lunar landing; stage 4 (Л4) was conceptualized as a crewed spacecraft in lunar orbit; and stage 5 (Л5) was conceptualized as a heavy crewed lunar rover to support a crew of 3–5 people.<ref name="baturin-afanasev-2005">{{Cite book |last1=Baturin |first1=I︠U︡. M. |last2=Afanasʹev |first2=I. B. |url=https://archive.org/details/mirovaiapilotiru0000unse |title=Mirovaya pilotiruemaya kosmonavtika: istoriya, tekhnika, lyudi |publisher=РТСофт [RTSoft] |year=2005 |isbn=5-9900271-2-5 |pages=169, 178 |language=ru |script-title=ru:Мировая пилотируемая космонавтика: история, техника, люди |trans-title=World Manned Spaceflight: History, technology, people |lccn=2010419839 |oclc=1256536142 |ol=30460496M }}</ref><ref name="laspace-lunokhod1">{{Cite web |title=K 35-letiyu posadki na Lunu pervogo samokhodnogo apparata "Lunokhod 1" |script-title=ru:К 35-летию посадки на Луну первого самоходного аппарата "Луноход 1" |trans-title=On the 35th Anniversary of the Landing on the Moon of the First Rover "Lunokhod 1" |url=http://www.laspace.ru/rus/lh.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090420173511/http://www.laspace.ru/rus/lh.php |archive-date=20 April 2009 |access-date=24 December 2015 |language=ru }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Comparison of orbital launch systems]]
* [[Comparison of orbital launchers families]]
* [[Nova (rocket)]]
* [[R-56 (rocket)|R-56]]
* [[Space Launch System]]
* [[SpaceX Starship]]
* [[Universal Rocket#UR-700|UR-700]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{Cite web|url=http://astronautix.com/l/l3.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820144135/http://www.astronautix.com/l/l3.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 20, 2016|title=L3 |publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica |access-date=2019-05-07}}
* {{Cite book |author=Matthew Johnson|title=N-1: For the Moon and Mars A Guide to the Soviet Superbooster |publisher=ARA Press; First edition|year=2014|isbn=9780989991407 }}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|N-1 (rocket)}}

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160820144135/http://www.astronautix.com/l/l3.html Astronautix] history of the N1
* [http://www.russianspaceweb.com/n1.html Statistics and information. Interactive model.]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyoBHBOnscY/ Video footage of N-1 vehicle 5L failure with launch abort system activated]
* [http://www.buran.ru/htm/gud%2019.htm Raketno-kosmicheskii kompleks N1-L3, book: Гудилин В.Е., Слабкий Л.И. (Gudilin V., Slabkiy L.) "Ракетно-космические системы (История. Развитие. Перспективы)", М., 1996] ([[:ru:Слабкий Леонид Ильич|Слабкий Л.И.]]) (in Russian)
* [http://www.skeptik.net/conspir/mishin.htm Interview with Vasily Pavlovich Mishin] (in Russian)
* [http://www.kistler.co/ Kistler Space Systems] the US company developing an NK-33 based rocket
*[http://www.boris-lux.de/04_types/61_lv/sp_ru/15_n1l/n1l3.php Drawing]

{{Russian launch vehicles}}
{{Expendable launch systems}}
{{N1-L3}}
{{Russian human spaceflight programs}}
{{USAF/DoD reporting names}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:N1 (Rocket)}}
[[Category:1969 in spaceflight]]
[[Category:1969 in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:1971 in spaceflight]]
[[Category:1971 in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Exploration of the Moon]]
[[Category:Missions to the Moon]]
[[Category:Soviet lunar program]]
[[Category:Space launch vehicles of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Space accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union]]