

Space Shuttle programme, which in the 1980s raised considerable concerns among the Soviet military and especially Defense Minister Dmitriy Ustinov. The Buran orbital vehicle programme was developed in response to the U.S. 5.2.2 Key differences between Buran and NASA's Space Shuttle.5.2.1 Comparison to NASA's Space Shuttle.4 Possibilities for a revival of the Buran Programme.2.5.2 Orbital flight of Orbiter K1 in 1988.Thus the Buran programme matched an expendable rocket to a reusable spaceplane. Smaller rocket engines on the craft's body provided propulsion in orbit and de-orbital burns. For example, the main engines during launch were on the Energia rocket and were not taken into orbit by the spacecraft. Although Soviet/Russian Buran spacecraft was similar in appearance to NASA's Space Shuttle, and could similarly operate as a re-entry spaceplane, its internal and functional design was distinct. The OK-GLI resides in Technikmuseum Speyer. Orbiter K1, which flew the test flight in 1988 was crushed in a hangar collapse on in Kazakhstan. Buran completed one unmanned orbital spaceflight in 1988 before its cancellation in 1993. Development work included sending BOR-5 test vehicles on multiple sub-orbital test flights, and atmospheric flights of the OK-GLI aerodynamic prototype. The project was the largest and the most expensive in the history of Soviet space exploration. The Buran programme was started by the Soviet Union as a response to the United States Space Shuttle program. They are generally treated as a Soviet equivalent of the United States' Space Shuttle but in the Buran project, only the airplane-shaped orbiter itself was theoretically reusable, and while Orbiter K1 was recovered successfully after its first orbital flight in 1988, it was never reused. The Buran-class space shuttle orbiters used the expendable Energia rocket as a launch vehicle. In addition to being the designation for the whole Soviet/Russian reusable spacecraft project, Buran was also the name given to Orbiter K1, which completed one unmanned spaceflight in 1988 and remains the only Soviet reusable spacecraft to be launched into space. The Buran ( Russian: Бура́н, IPA:, Snowstorm or Blizzard) programme, also known as the VKK Space Orbiter ( Russian: Воздушно Космический Корабль, Air Space Ship) programme, was a Soviet and later Russian reusable spacecraft project that began in 1974 at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute and was formally suspended in 1993. Orbiter K1 on launch pad 110/37 in November 1988ĭecommissioned programme halted in 1993 1K1 destroyed in a 2002 hangar collapse, 1K2 in storage in Baikonur 2K1 at Zukhovsky Airport 2 other orbiters barely started when programme was cancelled. For other uses, see Buran (disambiguation). For the orbiter launched in 1988 see Buran (spacecraft). The cockpit looks as it would have looked for the piloted program, and you’ll be able to manually land a Buran from orbit to spaceport on the spaceship simulator.This article is about the Soviet/Russian reusable space programme. The cargo bay now hosts interactive displays, and the guide would tell you all the cool details about this program. If you want to get inside the cabin, there are guided tours available (500RUR, but book in advance, as they have only one English-speaking guide). It’s almost the real spacecraft-this one was used for structural testing. The Buran on display at the VDNKH was renovated in 2014. Nevertheless, this beautiful spaceship and its giant “Energiya” launch vehicle are still marvels of space engineering, with lots of unsolvable problems solved, and are a monument to the Space Race. Unfortunately, the enormous amount of workforce and money spent into this project ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and, when the project was 100% done, the Buran made its first and only orbital (unmanned) spaceflight in 1988, with the whole program shutting down shortly after. By some means, it was even more advanced than Space Shuttle, able to put heavier payloads into orbit, cheaper, and (at the time) much smarter, being able to perform totally automatic flight and landing. It was started back in 1974 as a counterpart to the US Space Shuttle, and the whole country effort was put into building this spaceship and its launch vehicle for 12 years. As a space engineer, I was always excited by the famous Energiya-Buran Soviet space program.
