Soyuz 7K-L1

The Soyuz 7K-L1 "Zond" spacecraft was designed to launch men from the Earth to circle the Moon without going into lunar orbit in the context of the Soviet manned moon-flyby program in the Moon race. It was based on the Soyuz 7K-OK with several components stripped out to reduce the vehicle weight. The most notable modifications included the removal of the orbital module (the orbital module was replaced by a support cone and a high-gain parabolic antenna) and a reserve parachute; and the addition of the gyro platform and star navigation sensors for the far space navigation. The spacecraft was capable of carrying two cosmonauts. In the beginning, there were serious reliability problems with both the new Proton rocket, the Proton 7K-L1, and the similar new Soyuz spacecraft.