Building Buran

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 12/22/2015 at 11:01 • Filed to: planelopnik, planelopnik history

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The Buran (Blizzard) was the Soviet Union’s attempt to make their own reusable spacecraft like the US !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The Buran flew just one unmanned mission, blasting off from !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in Kazakhstan on November 15, 1988. A lack of funding brought an end to the Buran program, and the shuttle was destroyed in a hangar collapse in 2002.

Fl1ngstam > ttyymmnn 12/22/2015 at 11:11

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These photos of the abandoned Burans are amazing:

http://ralphmirebs.livejournal.com/219949.html

Mercedes Streeter > ttyymmnn 12/22/2015 at 11:12

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At least the Soviet space program did give us 1.5 really awesome planes.

ttyymmnn > Fl1ngstam 12/22/2015 at 11:15

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Those are awesome, thanks. It would have been quite an experience to walk around inside that building. I guess “hangar” isn’t exactly the right word for that structure.

ttyymmnn > Mercedes Streeter 12/22/2015 at 11:16

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The Mriya gets a shout out in today’s Avation History post.

Justin Hughes > ttyymmnn 12/22/2015 at 11:18

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The lack of funding also came at the same time as the collapse of the Soviet Union, which gave the former republics more important Earthbound things to think about.

For all that Buran blatantly copied the Space Shuttle (and why not - NASA was wide open about the design), they also did a few things differently. Liquid rocket boosters, for one. The biggest problem with solid rockets is that once you turn them on, they can’t be turned off. This was most obvious in the Challenger explosion, where the SRBs strayed off on their own after the destruction of the orbiter and external tank. The Soviets were always better at liquid than solid rockets anyway. Additionally, the Shuttle couldn’t be flown unmanned. It took a minimum crew of two, as on the first four Shuttle flights. The ability to send an unmanned Shuttle would’ve had some advantages, including potential rescue missions to the ISS, or other Shuttles that were too damaged during launch to re-enter the atmosphere safely ( Columbia , for instance), for maximum crew capacity to return.

ttyymmnn > Justin Hughes 12/22/2015 at 11:25

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The Russians always seem to get a bum rap for copying American designs, but they also tend to improve them, or at least tailor them to their own specific needs. It’s a shame Buran never flew operationally. It would have made things interesting, and NASA may have benefitted from the competition.

Justin Hughes > ttyymmnn 12/22/2015 at 11:26

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And later, the cooperation, though nobody could’ve known that at the time.

ttyymmnn > Justin Hughes 12/22/2015 at 11:44

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I think it’s a hopeful sign that, in spite of all that is going on politically, the US and Russia can continue to cooperate in space.

For Sweden > ttyymmnn 12/22/2015 at 12:16

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I like the portraits of inspirational members of the revolutionary proletariat vanguard.

The Powershift in Steve's '12 Ford Focus killed it's TCM (under warranty!) > Fl1ngstam 12/22/2015 at 14:01

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That looks like a place James Bond would blow up before vigorous kissing a beautiful woman. The scale of it all is very Bond-villain-esque.

Fl1ngstam > The Powershift in Steve's '12 Ford Focus killed it's TCM (under warranty!) 12/22/2015 at 14:50

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The Cosmodrome certainly sounds like a significant place...