How Can We Help?
< Back

The Soyuz-L (Russian: Союз, meaning "union"), GRAU index 11A511L was a Soviet expendable carrier rocket designed by OKB-1 and manufactured by State Aviation Plant No. 1 in Samara, Russia. It was created to test the LK lunar lander in low Earth orbit, as part of the Soviet lunar programme.

The Soyuz-L was a derivative of the original Soyuz rocket featuring the reinforced first stage and boosters supporting the Molniya-M's third stage, so that it could carry a more massive payload. A larger payload fairing was also fitted, to accommodate the LK spacecraft.[2] The Soyuz-L was only launched three times between 1970 and 1971, all successful.[1] The later Soyuz-U used a similar configuration to the Soyuz-L.

References

  1. ^ a b Krebs, Gunter. "Soyuz-L (11A511L)". Gunter's space page. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  2. ^ Wade, Mark. "Soyuz". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2009-04-16.


Categories
Table of Contents