N-1 – Nick Stevens Graphics

Accura Space Models NK-33, a review

I rarely post reviews, but this is something of a special case. I spotted the model of the Soviet NK-33 rocket engine, and decided to treat myself to one. As I am very clumsy, I ordered the built version. I was offered a nice discount if I reviewed it on Social Media, but you will be able to judge the quality for yourself, as I will show lots of details, and you can see exactly what you get.

Historical Background

The NK-33 was developed for the Soviet N1 Moon rocket, by the Kuznetsov engineering bureau after the Soviet Union’s foremost Engine designer, Valentin Glushko point blank refused to develop the engines.

if you want more information on the history of the engines, there’s an excellent “Equinox” documentary on YouTube, with a LOT more information:

Ordering the kit.

Ordering was straightforward, and once the model was assembled and painted, Evangelos Agas got in touch to discuss the best way of getting it to me. I went for DHL, as I wanted to be sure it would arrive safely. In practice, it as exceptionally well packed, and I think special treatment is not required.

During the long build process, Evangelos kept me in touch with progress, showing me how it was coming along:

Here’s the box, partly unpacked:

NK-33 model in the box — NK-33 model in the inner box

The separate layers of foam made for great protection, and the layers had numbers cut into them, to make it easy to reassemble if you need to. The box shown was inside another larger box with a lot more foam packing for even more protection. You can also see the authenticity card, and the nice shiny base stand. The authenticity card is the same size as a bank card, to help you understand the scale.

I managed to knock off one small part while getting it out, but Evangelos responding in minutes with a clear illustration of where it went, and a couple of dabs of superglue soon had it restored as good as new.

As you can see, there are some delicate parts here, (required for accuracy and detail), so you will need to be fairly careful when handling it. But it fits snugly onto the stand, so display won’t be a problem. Continue reading “Accura Space Models NK-33, a review”

N-1 For the Moon & Mars, a second edition.

I’m pleased to announce that we are going ahead with a second edition of the book, “N-1 for the Moon and Mars”.

If you would like to be kept informed of progress, I have set up a newsletter that will report details, and share some early views of new content. You can sign up here:

https://t.co/5h6ZQQz22c?amp=1

I expect to post short updates every week or two.

The first edition has been pretty much impossible to get hold of for some time, with stupid money being asked for a copy.

Cover, 1st Edition, N-1 for the Moon & Mars

What will be added in the new edition?

Continue reading “N-1 For the Moon & Mars, a second edition.”

The role of Lunokhod in Soviet Union manned lunar program.

It was not realised at the time, but the Soviet “Lunokhod” robotic moon rover was also a key component of the plans to put a cosmonaut onto the Moon.

Here’s how the mission sequence would work:

Identify landing sites.

Lunokhod would provide close up examination of prospective landing sites for a manned mission. This required a “Proton” (UR-500) class launcher.

Continue reading “The role of Lunokhod in Soviet Union manned lunar program.”

History of Manned Spaceflight, The Essential Books.

There are a huge number of books out there covering space exploration, but in my opinion, very few that manage to combine definitive coverage with an exciting read. So, here is my shortlist for books you should read if you want to enjoy finding out more about the history of manned space exploration.

I’ve included Amazon links, (I get nothing from these). Continue reading “History of Manned Spaceflight, The Essential Books.”

N-1 Gantry stairways

It’s going slowly, but this is probably the trickiest part. Getting the various stairways done, that dangle under or wind around, the main struts of the gantry.

I’ve not yet finished connecting them up to the walkways, but that’s not too difficult.

View through gantry the stairway plumbing!

Continue reading “N-1 Gantry stairways”

N-1 – Restarting work on the Manned Soviet Lunar Program.

I’ve restarted working on the models I did of the manned Soviet Lunar program, with a view to taking them to the next level.

I’m starting with the rotating gantry, here are the old and new versions of the hub:

Continue reading “N-1 – Restarting work on the Manned Soviet Lunar Program.”

Why did the Soviet manned Lunar program fail?

There is still much debate about why the Soviet Union – which was consistently way ahead in the early days of space exploration, failed to beat the USA to putting a man on the Moon. But while there is some disagreement over which factors were the most important, there is considerable consensus about which factors drove this.

They started later.

The USA made putting a man on the Moon the key national objective, from before they had even put a man in orbit. Pretty much the entire space program focused on this objective. By the time this became a national objective in the Soviet Union, 2 years later, time was very tight to develop a powerful enough rocket, and get the required expertise in flight systems.

Also, at the time the speech was made, the Soviet Union was so obviously far ahead, they did not take the US intention seriously.

Continue reading “Why did the Soviet manned Lunar program fail?”

Identifying the different N-1 variants.

Identifying N-1 variants. I mentioned this briefly in an earlier post, which featured some images I stitched together from video, but here it is in a bit more depth.

You are generally trying to distinguish between 5 different N-1 variants in photographs, the four that flew, and the weight model. This is most easily done via the colours, though there are several other differences.

This post is not about ALL the differences between the variants, just about how to tell which rocket is which.

N1-3L, the first flight.

This is easy to identify, as it is the only one with entirely grey first and second stages. The third stage is half white, with the white part facing upwards on the transporter, which is the side away from the gantry once the rocket has been erected. It was transported to the pad in winter, and there are photos of it with snow on.

Note that there was no green on any of the N-1 variants! This is a widely held misconception, as many museums show it as green, (including the London science museum, and many Russian museums too). Olive green was only used to camouflage missiles, (and green would make lousy camouflage in Baikonur at the best of times). This error has spread to the point where photographs have been tinted to make them look green). And sometimes it was just poor quality film stock.

Continue reading “Identifying the different N-1 variants.”

Unseen N-1 reference photos. Part 1.

I was dithering over what to title this N-1 post. New photos? Not exactly new, as they are based on old video, and (in most cases) stitched together from video that panned around.

Anyway, here are some photos I put together from video. If you are interested in the Manned Soviet Lunar program, it’s worth following Roscosmos on YouTube – they seem to be slowly restoring and releasing the various bits of N-1 footage at higher quality, and releasing it piecemeal in the items on the history of space exploration.

The quality of these photos is highly variable, (by which I mean that some are awful!), but given the shortage of N-1 references, I hope they will prove useful.

Let’s start with the banner image, showing the L3 (upper) section, of the N1-5L This is a pretty good shot of the farings that cover the parts that would reach the moon.

Stitched image of the L3 section of the N1-5L moon rocket

It’s worth noticing the crew escape system on the left:

Note how the exhaust holes near the tip are two different sizes. This is so that, if it is used, it will carry the crew to one side, and away from the main rocket.

Continue reading “Unseen N-1 reference photos. Part 1.”

N-1 For the Moon and Mars – Part 1

Introduction:

I’m surprised to see I have not mentioned this yet here on my blog!

A few years ago Matt Johnson approached me with the idea of putting together a book on the Soviet moon rocket, the N-1. I had previously given him some references for making a flying model, and he thought it would be cool to put together a book gathering the research, and using my CGI to illustrate it.

Here’s what we came out with!

(The picture links to the store at ARA Press, where I think you can still buy a copy).

The concept, and my role

The idea was that it would combine a history of the program with a detailed modeller guide. If I had known the effort it would take I would probably never have signed up! But with the help of some Russian friends, notably Axenadart Schliadinsky, we set about it. Continue reading “N-1 For the Moon and Mars – Part 1”