 Buran on launch pad 110/37 | |
| Country | Soviet Union |
|---|---|
| Named after | "Snowstorm"[1] |
| Status | Decommissioned; destroyed in a 2002 hangar collapse |
| First flight | 1K1 15 November 1988[1] |
| Last flight | 1K1 15 November 1988[1] |
| No. of missions | 1[1] |
| Crew members | 0[1] |
| Days spent in space | 3 hours |
| No. of orbits | 2[1] |
The Buran spacecraft (Template:Lang-ru, Snowstorm or Blizzard), GRAU index 11F35 K1, was the only completed and operational space shuttle vehicle from the Soviet Buran program. Clearly influenced by the earlier American Space Shuttle design [citation needed] , the Buran completed one unmanned spaceflight in 1988 before the cancellation of the Soviet shuttle program in 1993. The Buran was subsequently destroyed by a hangar collapse in 2002.
Overview
The Buran spacecraft was designed for the delivery to orbit and return to Earth of spacecraft, cosmonauts, and supplies. Like its American counterpart, the Buran, when in transit from its landing sites back to the launch complex, was transported on the back of a large jet aeroplane. It was piggy-backed on the Antonov An-225 Mriya aircraft, which was designed for this task and remains the largest aircraft in the world, based on length.
First flight
The only orbital launch of Buran occurred at 3:00 UTC on 15 November 1988 from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 110/37. It was lifted into orbit unmanned by the specially designed Energia booster rocket. The life support system was partially installed and no software was installed to run the computer display screens.[1]
The shuttle orbited the Earth twice in 206 minutes of flight.[2] It performed an automated landing on the shuttle runway at Baikonur Cosmodrome where, despite a lateral wind speed of 61.2 kilometres per hour (38.0 mph), it landed only 3 metres (9.8 ft) laterally and 10 metres (33 ft) longitudinally from the target.[2]
Part of the launch was televised but the actual lift-off was not shown. This led to some speculation that the mission may have been fabricated, and that the subsequent landing may not have been from orbit but from a shuttle-carrying aircraft, as with the Space Shuttle Enterprise. The launch video has since been released to the public, confirming that the shuttle did indeed lift off with the poor weather conditions described by the Soviet media at the time easily seen.[3]
Projected flights
In 1989, it was projected that Buran would have an unmanned second flight in 1993, with a duration of 15–20 days.[4] Due to the cancellation of the project, this never took place. Several scientists have been looking into trying to revive the Buran program, especially after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.[5] Currently, none of these plans have come to further fruition; however, there have recently been new interests in renewing the program temporarily while Russia struggles with the PPTS and Kliper design stages.[6][7]
Destruction
On May 12, 2002, a hangar housing Buran in Kazakhstan collapsed, due to poor maintenance. The collapse killed eight workers and destroyed the orbiter as well as a mock-up of an Energia carrier rocket.[8]
- Photo of collapsed hangar
- Remains of Buran photo. The Buran's right front windscreen is still visible under the debris.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Buran". NASA. 12 November 1997. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
- ^ a b Chertok, Boris (2005). Asif A. Siddiqi (ed.). Raketi i lyudi[[Category:Articles containing Russian-language text]] (trans. "Rockets and People") (PDF). NASA History Series. p. 179. Retrieved 2006-07-03.
{{cite book}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help) - ^ "видео для 1 CD с big видеофильмами". buran.ru. Retrieved 2009-12-01. Template:Ru icon
- ^ "Экипажи "Бурана" Несбывшиеся планы.[[Category:Articles containing Russian-language text]]". buran.ru. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
{{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help) Template:Ru icon - ^ Birch, Douglas (2003). "Russian space program is handed new responsibility" (url). Sun Foreign Staff. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
- ^ "Soviet space shuttle could bail out NASA". Current.com. 2008-12-31. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
- ^ "Soviet space shuttle could bail out NASA". Russiatoday.com. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
- ^ Whitehouse, David (2002-05-13). "Russia's space dreams abandoned". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
Further reading
- Energiya-Buran: The Soviet Space Shuttle, Bart Hendrick and Bert Vis, Springer-Praxis, 2007, pp526, ISBN 978-0-387-69848-9.
- Heinz Elser, Margrit Elser-Haft, Vladim Lukashevich: Buran - History and Transportation of the Russian Space shuttle OK-GLI to the Technik Museum Speyer, two Languages: German and Englisch, 2008, ISBN 3-9809437-7-1
External links
- Manufacturer's site about Buran space shuttle, buran.ru.
- Manufacturer - NPO MOLNIYA Research and Industrial Corporation.
- Buran historical photos at NPO MOLNIYA (buran.ru) with comments in Russian.
- Buran video archive at NPO MOLNIYA with comments in Russian.
- Enthusiast site about Buran space shuttle
- Full video briefing of the Buran shuttle
- Buran photo report at Pravda.ru
- Technical Drawing of the Buran
- Historical photos at englishrussia.com
