From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
LEK Lunar Expeditionary Complex
was a lunar expedition and
Moon base
proposed by
Valentin Glushko
in 1974 as a
Soviet
response to the
United States
'
Apollo program
and as a successor to the
Zvezda moonbase
, which was based on the cancelled
N1-L3 crewed Moon expedition program
. If implemented, it was intended to have been operational by 1980 and used for scientific and engineering research.
Hardware
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The Vulkan-LEK project was based on new superheavy launcher developed in Glushko's bureau.
The moonbase design consisted of a number of modules, including:
- Lunokhod
, an 8-
ton
pressurized
lunar rover
to be used to build the base and for expeditions.
[1]
- The LZM ("Laboratory-Factory Module"), a 15.5-ton pressurized module to be used for
oxygen
production and scientific experiments.
- The LZhM ("Laboratory-Habitation Module"), 21.5-ton habitation module where
cosmonauts
were to reside.
- A
nuclear power station
to provide electricity.
- A simple transport vehicle to ferry supplies to and from a
lunar orbit
.
Project termination
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]
The project was cancelled in 1976 when a
Russian Academy of Sciences
Commission ruled that resources should be targeted toward projects primarily adding economic value rather than for national prestige.
See also
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References
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External links
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American projects
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Soviet and
Russian projects
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Chinese and
Russian project
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Other projects
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Proposed sites
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Related
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