Energia LK-LOK

Mission Profile

Energia LK-LOK was a proposed Soviet crewed lunar landing complex studied in the late 1980s as a revival of the crewed lunar program using the new Energia super-heavy rocket instead of the failed N1. The concept would have used Energia to launch a modernized LOK lunar orbital craft and LK lander derived from the original N1-L3 designs but significantly upgraded with improved propulsion and life support. Despite the formal study, the program was never officially approved or funded, and the Soviet collapse in 1991 ended any realistic prospect of a Soviet crewed lunar landing. It represents the final chapter of Soviet crewed lunar ambition, emerging two decades too late to compete with Apollo.