The N1 was absolutely not as capable as the Saturn 5. N1 was only capable of 95 tons to low earth orbit and 33 tons to trans trans lunar injection, compared to the Saturn 5 being capable of 140 tons in to low earth orbit and 43.5 tons to trans lunar injection.
The N1 had a lot of technical limitations in its design. The tanks were much heavier per volume of fuel carried. The computers were bulky and comparatively primitive. And while the staged combustion NK engines were technically impressive in their own right, their specific impulse paled in comparison to the hydrolox J-2s, and the fact that only 5 F-1s were needed just made it fundamentally more reliable than the NK-15 which couldn’t be tested because of their single use valves.
The N1 was absolutely not as capable as the Saturn 5. N1 was only capable of 95 tons to low earth orbit and 33 tons to trans trans lunar injection, compared to the Saturn 5 being capable of 140 tons in to low earth orbit and 43.5 tons to trans lunar injection.
The N1 had a lot of technical limitations in its design. The tanks were much heavier per volume of fuel carried. The computers were bulky and comparatively primitive. And while the staged combustion NK engines were technically impressive in their own right, their specific impulse paled in comparison to the hydrolox J-2s, and the fact that only 5 F-1s were needed just made it fundamentally more reliable than the NK-15 which couldn’t be tested because of their single use valves.