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Origins/Status
Alternate Designations:
Blizzard,
Snowstorm,
VKK-1,
The Russian Space Shuttle
Major Contractors: None; the Buran was a Soviet government project
Nation of Origin:
USSR
Used By: USSR
Number in Use: 0
Launch Sites: Tyuratam
Project Status: Cancelled in 1993
Dimensions
Length: 36.37
meters
Height: 16.35 meters
Wingspan: 23.92 meters
Gross lift-off weight: 105,000
kilograms
Capacity
Crew: Never Specified
Mission Duration: Never Specified
Orbital Range: Unknown
Maximum Acceleration: Unknown
Cargo Bay Length: 18.55 meters
Cargo Bay Width: 4.65 meters
Overview
The Buran shuttle project was ordered by
Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev in response to the
American Space Transportation System. Brezhnev feared that the
United States would use the
STS as a vehicle for a suprise
nuclear attack under the guise of a peaceful research
mission. The Buran was, unlike the American STS, intended from the start to be a military
weapon.
The Buran was in most respects an outright theft of the design of the American STS
orbiter, though somewhat smaller, and launched by piggybacking on the powerful Energia
expendable launch vehicle. The Buran's construction was ordered in 1976, and construction
began in 1978, completed in 1987.
The Buran has flown only once (November 15, 1988) and that was an unmanned proving mission. Shortly thereafter,
work on the project halted due to lack of funds and lack of interest on the part of Premier
Gorbachev's government. The project was officially cancelled in 1993 by President Boris
Yeltsin of the Russian Federation, after the fall of the Soviet Union, as it was seen as
having no known non-military mission. Additionally, the project manager was one of the
instigators of the 1991 coup attempt on Yeltsin's government. Since then, the various
Buran testbeds have been broken down for scrap or sold to civillian interests. One lies
in Gorky Park and is used as a space-themed restaurant. The Russian Federation has no plans
to resurrect the Buran program.
Credits and Further Reading
For more information, read:
- The Buran entry in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (http://www.rocketry.com/mwade/craft/buran.htm)
- NASA's Buran page (http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/rsa/buran.html)
- Buran Fan Website (http://k26.com/buran/)
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