ferox III Print

The N1, or Н1 (from Ракета-носитель) in Russian, was a super heavy-lift launch vehicle intended to deliver payloads beyond low Earth orbit. Was intended to enable crewed travel to Earth's Moon and beyond. Its first stage remains the most powerful rocket stage ever built, but all of the four flown N1 Block A first stages failed. The second N-1 vehicle was launched on 3 July 1969. For a few moments, the rocket lifted into the night sky. As soon as it cleared the tower, there was a flash of light, and debris could be seen falling from the bottom of the first stage. All the engines instantly shut down except engine #18. This caused the N-1 to lean over at a 45-degree angle and drop back onto launch pad. The nearly 2300 tons of propellant on board triggered a massive blast and shock wave and sent debris flying as far as 10 kilometers from the center of the explosion. Half an hour after the accident launch crews encountered droplets of unburned RP-1 still raining down from the sky.