N1

N1
General Information
Operator	Soviet Space Program
Type	Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
Function	Crewed lunar spaceflight
Launch site	Baikonur Cosmodrome
Specifications
Propulsion	Chemical
Dimensions	Height: 105.3 m Diameter: 17 m Mass: 2'750 t
Components	5 stages
Capacity
Crew	3-5
Passengers	Alexei Leonov (at least once)
Payload	To LEO: 95'000 kg To TLI: 23'500 kg
History
Missions	First manned Moon landing
First used	Around mid 1960s
Retired	1976

The N1 (Raketa-nositel', lit. "Carrier Rocket"), or Cyrillic Н1 (from Ракета-носитель), was a Soviet human-rated super heavy-lift launch vehicle used in 1969 to carry Alexei Leonov to the Moon.

The N1's first stage was the most powerful rocket stage ever built, prior to the development of the Sea Dragon by the United States. The rocket was the brainchild of Soviet rocket scientist and director of the Soviet Space Program, Sergei Korolev. It was replaced with its even more powerful successor, the N3, which was first launched in August 1976.

Gallery

Note: These are real life images of the N1 launch vehicles used for illustration purposes.

N1 mockup at the Baikonur Cosmodrome 1967

Soviet N1 booster on launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

Night launch of N1

Two of the gigantic five-stage N-1 rockets on their launch pads

N1 on launch pad 110

30 first stage engines of the N1

See also

• Launch vehicle
• N3

External links

•   N1 (rocket) on Wikipedia
•   planehistoria.com: N1 Rocket – The Most Powerful Space Rocket Ever Built (archived 2023-09-30)
•   Spektr: N-1 Soviet Moon Rocket on YouTube (Footage of N1 launches)