Declassified UFO / UAP Document
Maj Gen Avn Leonov on Soviet Lunar Program Details
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AI-Generated Summary
This document provides an interview with cosmonaut Aleksey Leonov regarding the structure and technical history of the Soviet manned lunar program. It outlines the two-stage approach involving the Proton booster, L-1 Soyuz craft, and the N-1/L-3 systems.
This document is a transcript from a 1991 JPRS report, originally published in the Moscow journal AVIATSIYA I KOSMONAVTIKA in August 1990. It features an interview conducted by Major I. Kuznetsov with Major General of Aviation Aleksey Arkhipovich Leonov, a twice-honored Hero of the Soviet Union and a Soviet pilot-cosmonaut. The discussion focuses on the history and technical details of the Soviet manned lunar program. Leonov explains that the program was divided into two distinct stages: an initial flyby of the Moon and a subsequent manned landing on the lunar surface. The technical direction of this effort was under the leadership of Vasiliy Pavlovich Mishin, a Hero of Socialist Labor. Regarding the mid-1960s, Leonov notes that the first stage was viewed as realistic by specialists at the time, with the Proton booster rocket already in flight and the L-1 version of the Soyuz spacecraft being developed. He also mentions that prior to the formal decision to proceed with the lunar program, Sergey Pavlovich Korolev had provided information regarding the development of the powerful N-1 booster and the L-3 system.
The Soviet manned lunar program envisaged two stages: the first was a flyby of the Moon and the second was a manned landing on the Moon, and its technical director was Hero of Socialist Labor Vasiliy Pavlovich Mishin.
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Official Assessment
The Soviet manned lunar program was structured in two stages: a lunar flyby and a manned lunar landing. The program was technically directed by Vasiliy Pavlovich Mishin. In the mid-1960s, the first stage was considered realistic, utilizing the Proton booster and the L-1 Soyuz craft. Sergey Pavlovich Korolev had previously discussed the N-1 booster and L-3 system.
Key Persons
- Aleksey Arkhipovich LeonovMajor General of Aviation, USSR Pilot-Cosmonaut, Twice-Honored HSU
- Vasiliy Pavlovich MishinTechnical director of the Soviet manned lunar program
- Sergey Pavlovich KorolevInvolved in the realization of the lunar program