LEK (Lunar Expeditionary Spacecraft)

Mission Profile

LEK (Lunniy Ekspeditsiooniy Korabl, or Lunar Expeditionary Spacecraft) was the Soviet lunar lander concept developed for the L3 lunar landing complex, intended to carry a single cosmonaut from lunar orbit to the surface. It was an extremely compact single-seat vehicle designed to be boosted by the LOK orbital module into a low lunar orbit before the lone cosmonaut transferred to the LEK for descent. The lander was test-flown unmanned as the T2K spacecraft aboard Soyuz rockets, successfully validating its propulsion system in Earth orbit. The LEK program was cancelled after the N1 rocket's repeated failures eliminated any realistic path to a Soviet crewed lunar landing.