Buran (spacecraft)

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This article is about the Buran spacecraft; for the space program see Buran program. For other uses of the term, see Buran.

Buran Russian: Буран <tr valign=top><td>Orbiter Vehicle Designation:</td><td>11F35 K1</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Country:</td><td>Soviet Union</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Named after:</td><td>"Snowstorm" <ref name="nasa">Buran. NASA (12 November 1997). Retrieved on 2006-08-15.</ref></td></tr><tr valign=top><td>First flight:</td><td>1K1 15 November 1988 <ref name="nasa" /></td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Last flight:</td><td>1K1 15 November 1988 <ref name="nasa" /></td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Number of missions:</td><td>1 <ref name="nasa" /></td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Crews:</td><td>0 <ref name="nasa" /></td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Time spent in space:</td><td>3 hours</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Number of orbits:</td><td>2 <ref name="nasa" /></td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Status:</td><td>Decommissioned, destroyed in hangar collapse</td></tr>
Image:Buran landing.jpg Buran landing, with MiG-25 'Foxbat' chase plane</center>

The Buran spacecraft, serial number 11F35 K1, was the only fully completed and operational space shuttle from the Soviet Union's Buran program. It flew in space only once, in 1988, before the program was cancelled in 1993.

Like its American cousin, the Buran was transported on the back of a large jet airplane from its landing sites back to the launch complex. It was piggy-backed on the Soviet (now Ukrainian) Antonov An-225 aircraft, which was designed for this task, and is the largest powered aircraft in the world.

1 First flight
2 Projected flights
3 Destruction
4 References
5 External links

[edit] First flight

The first and only orbital launch of the (unmanned) shuttle Buran 1.01 was at 3:00 UTC on 15 November 1988. It was lifted into orbit by the specially designed Energia booster rocket. The life support system was not installed and no software was installed on the CRT displays. <ref name="nasa" />

The shuttle orbited the Earth twice in 206 minutes of flight<ref name="rockets_and_people">Chertok, Boris (2005). Asif A. Siddiqi: Raketi i lyudi (trans. "Rockets and People") (PDF), NASA History Series, 179. Retrieved on 2006-07-03.</ref>. On its return, it performed an automated landing on the shuttle runway at Baikonur Cosmodrome, where despite a lateral wind speed of 17 meters/second it made a successful landing only 3 meters laterally and 10 meters longitudinally from that aimed for. <ref name="rockets_and_people" />

Part of the launch was televised, but the actual liftoff 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. In the United States, this procedure was used with Space Shuttle Enterprise to test the flight characteristics of the Space Shuttle on approach and landing, so that by the time mission STS-1 drew to a close, the handling characteristics of Space Shuttle Columbia would be known. Since then, the launch video has been released to the public, confirming that the shuttle did indeed lift off, with the poor weather conditions described by the Russian media at the time easily seen. <ref name="video">Video: Soviet Shuttle Buran Launch. vunet.ru. Retrieved on 2006-09-13.</ref>

[edit] Projected flights

As of 1989, it was projected that Buran would have an unmanned second flight in 1993, with a duration of 15-20 days. <ref name="projected">Экипажи "Бурана" Несбывшиеся планы.. buran.ru. Retrieved on 2006-08-05. (Russian)</ref> Due to the cancellation of the project, this never took place.

[edit] Destruction

On May 12, 2002, the hangar, housing a Buran 1.01 orbiter and a mockup of the Energia booster rocket, collapsed due to incomplete maintenance, destroying the vehicle. Eight workers were also killed in the collapse of the building's roof. [1]
Collapsed Hangar Photo http://www.buran.ru/images/jpg/bbur89.jpg ,
Remains of Buran Photo http://www.buran.ru/images/jpg/bbur90.jpg, The Buran's right front windshield is still visible under the debris.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Image:Commons-logo.svg	Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Space Shuttle Buran

v • d • e</span> Space Shuttles
Image:DiscoveryVABrollout.jpg	Image:Flag of the United States.svg US Space Shuttle program Enterprise (atmospheric tests) Pathfinder (ground facilities tests) Columbia (destroyed 2003) Challenger (destroyed 1986) Discovery (active) Atlantis (active) Endeavour (active)	Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Buran program OK-GLI (BST-02) (aerotester) Buran (retired, destroyed 2002) Ptichka (95–97% completed, unused) 2.01 (incomplete) 2.02 (partially dismantled) 2.03 (dismantled)	Image:Buran.jpg