Energia LEK lander, or: What is that round circular thing?

[Jestersage]

So I am researching for Energia LEK lander, and noticeed that big round circular thing on the side. Problem is there are no description about what that thing is, and according to http://nickd.freehostia.com/OrbiterVault/lek.html, it's a container for rover.

So based on what everyone know and guess, what do you believe it is? Is it really a cargo pod/rover container, or is it airlock? Or somethign else?

[tater]

1 hour ago, Jestersage said:

So I am researching for Energia LEK lander, and noticeed that big round circular thing on the side. Problem is there are no description about what that thing is, and according to http://nickd.freehostia.com/OrbiterVault/lek.html, it's a container for rover.

So based on what everyone know and guess, what do you believe it is? Is it really a cargo pod/rover container, or is it airlock? Or somethign else?

This:

Labeled #4?

 

Might be an antenna?

[Jestersage]

6 minutes ago, tater said:

 

Labeled #4?

Might be an antenna?

Yeah, number 4. According to http://nickd.freehostia.com/OrbiterVault/img/lek26.jpg (which is a render), they are the only one then label it "lunokhod" Not sure whether that's true or not. But if that is an antenna, it is HUGE.

[Starwaster]

inflatable hab or lab space?

Going to say NOT airlock since there is a hatch on the other side as in the LK.

Edited August 7, 2019 by Starwaster

[Jestersage]

59 minutes ago, Starwaster said:

inflatable hab or lab space?

That I believe is unlikely. It's designed to use with the Vulkan launched LEK Habitat complex. It may be adapt to one when they repurposed it for the Energia LEK lander.

[kerbiloid]

Everywhere it's labelled as "lunokhod", though none of the pictures show anything but such quasicylinder with spherical caps.

Here and here they discuss modelling of this thing.

For me, the rover/lunokhod version looks unlikely, probably an artist's miscaption cloned everywhere due to absence of additional sources.

I believe, according to these two links discussion, this is a jettisonnable airlock, which is also a wardrobe for heavy lunar spacesuits.

Spoiler

 

(The square hatch on the opposite side exists only on that render).

Pay attention that on all pictures where that's visible, the re-entry capsule is placed inside the pressurized volume, attached to the conical top which looks different.
So, the interior is very cramped, while the airlock and the lunar suits are not required after starting or on landing abort.

According to the first link, the capsule was the same as in Glushko's Zarya spaceship, 3.5 m in diameter. Looking like Soyuz capsule scaled up from 2.2 m.
So, it would be unified with main orbital supply ship (the mentioned Zarya) (crew 4..8, up to 10 in a rescue version).

That can explain why it doesn't have a door in the heatshield.
The Dragon-like Zarya didn't have a habitat behind the capsule, so the capsule didn't need a door in heatshield.
So, as the standard capsule didn't have a door, they had to either place the lunar cabin on top of the capsule, what is obviously bad for launch abort, or place the whole capsule inside the habitat..
As the 3.5 m capsule is several times heavier than Soyuz's one, the first way is inappropriate. So, they put whole capsule inside.

Spoiler

One should remember, that this lunar project was not really engineered, as was cancelled soon after offering for financial reasons (Buran was priority), so there are at least 3 versions of its drawings, you can see them at the link, one by one.

Version 1 (the upper pair of pix).
Two launches. The lunarship (on the pictures) and a deorbit stage (not shown). Get to the lunar orbit separately, dock, deorbit. The lander lands, the stage crashes. Direct return from the Moon.
Estimated mass 30 + 30 t.

The author's estimation of the lander tanks give the landing stage mass ~15 t.

There was a project of a heavy pressurized rover, and a small open rover. The latter one you can probably see here. As you can see, it's too big for that cylinder.

Version 2 (the next pair of pix).
A single launch. Tanks for deorbiting included into the landing stage, so it's bigger.
Mentioned mass 60 t which (according to the link author) looks too much for Vulcan, but about the rocket see below.

Version 3 (the last pair of pix).
Two launches (orbiter and lander). The capsule doesn't land, stays in orbit. Though, is still placed inside the pressurized volume.
Estimated mass 30 + 30 t.

Estimated diameter of the pressurized appartment (the sphere) 4.1 m.

***

At this link the author shows the rockets of Gllushko's Energy family, and notices that the size numbers were added to the pictures later, by another artist, and don't really match the real Energy.
He describes that the original version of Energy/Vulcan was of 8.8 m diameter, while the later (implemented irl) was thinner, 7.7 m.
If replace the numbers scaling them up proportionally, then the sizes match.
As the lunar project was offered together with early design of Energy/Vulcan, this makes sense. Also this means that mass calculations were done for a heaviear than irl rocket, with greater payload.
So the lower stages are larger than irl Energy/Vulcan: central core = 8.8 m, radial boosters (combined in pairs) 6 m in diameter.

On the rocket picture you can see like a bottleneck. That's because the upper stage ("Vesuvius") stayed same, 7.7 m in diameter.
So, the rocket picture shows the early version of Vulcan/Energy, with 8.8 m lower stage and 7.7 upper stage. Later the first stage got narrower down to 7.7 m, matching the upper stage, and the radial boosters got narrower as well.

***

At this link the author compares the earlier and well-known LK lunarship with the LEK and demonstrates that LEK is basically extended LK.
(The developers were same, but the administration changed.)
The red arrows compare: idea of the radiator on top, sight, spherical habitat with the windowed niche(s), conical propulsion compartment, landing system, similarly placed and shaped fuel tanks.

The exploration version LEK still has landing solid motors to press the ship to the ground to prevent bouncing.
The supply version of LEK doesn't have them, presumably because the lunar base, to be supplied, should be sitting on a proper flatland rather than on a random slope.

Also, the author concludes that Glushko wasn't going to eliminate everything Korolev's.
Where _{(in those cases, lol)} the design was reasonable _{(unlike N1, lol)}, it happily survived.

***

At this link the author shows the propulsion system of LEK _{(making the Apollo lander engines feel all depth of their pettiness, just have a look...)}
It's also based on LK design, but extended.

To have the engine widely varying the thrust, it has an open scheme (i.e. the turbopump exhausts runs out separatedly from the main nozzle).

Also there is a fixed thrust backup engine. On landing troubles, a mini-KORD system automatically switches from main to backup, to return back to orbit.

If they'd landed successfully, on ascent both engines were on, then they were working a little together, then the KORD decided which one is the worst and switched it off, so they were getting to orbit by some of the engines.
In another post (and on the upper picture) there are two stages, and the ascent stage has its own engine(s). Probably, this is for different versions of LEK (a two-launch scheme with a single lightweight lander and a single-launch with a heavy two-staged lander).

Vernier nozzles for ascent/descent RCSing (4, a square) are exhaust nozzles of the  turbopumps (2 from each engine), as usually.

The nozzles are placed very close to each other, so the author presumes it's too dangerous in sense of fratricide _{(see my suggestion to name this "Jingle Bells effect", lol)}.

***

Here the author briefly describes his vision of lunar spacesuits placement, mentioned above as a jettisonnable wardrobe.

***

On NK forum the same author (ВВВ aka WkWk) and others have a discussion, too, but it quickly got offtopic.
The upper picture is from this link.

***

The LEK should be treated as a lunar application of Zarya project, replacing Soyuz with a larger reusable ship, and using 6 m oribtal station modules, and the early, heavier version of Vulcan/Energy.
Then it looks more reasonable.

Edited August 7, 2019 by kerbiloid

[Reactordrone]

Could be a pressurised avionics compartment like on the original, one man LK.

[Jestersage]

18 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

<snip>

Thanks for the info. It is always better to grab info from the native language. Thanks for the translation.

And this make sense, seeing that it is a follow up on the L3M lander, which itself is a 3 man version of LK-1

The only reason why I am wondering if it's actually airlock (instead of automatically assuming the side circle thing is one) is due to knowing the Vulkan version is have at least 2 compartment (just like L3M): The ascent cockpit, which in the case of Vulkan LEK is heatshielded; and the descent use cockpit, which is why it have 2 window niche, so the descent pilot can look down. Due to the paper-project nature and dual compartment layout, it is possible for the descent cockpit to act as an airlock while the inner sphere stay pressurized, but it just as well as a shirt-sleeve habitat - especially for the Energia version, which does not have a base component and thus require to carry its own habitat

The "window niche being indication of descent cockpit" can also be seen in the Lockheed Martin 2024 lander (both proposal), except it has one square niche.

EDiT: 

13 hours ago, Reactordrone said:

Could be a pressurised avionics compartment like on the original, one man LK.

Yes, it's possible - one of kerbiloid 's example actually compared LK lander's "instrument compartment" with the circular thing, and some consider them identical. All in all, it's speculation.

Edited August 8, 2019 by Jestersage