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Soviet space shuttle could bail out NASA
Published: 15 November, 2008, 09:44
Edited: 19 October, 2010, 18:13
TAGS: SciTech
The Soviet-era Buran space programme, mothballed 20 years ago, may be revived. With NASA about to retire its ageing fleet of space shuttles, there is a pressing need for viable space transport.
Two decades ago the Soviet space shuttle Buran blasted off on its first and only orbital flight. Just a few years later, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the programme was shelved.
The Buran was the Soviet Union's answer to NASA’s space shuttle programme. On November 15, 1988, the shuttle was propelled out of the Earth’s atmosphere by the specially designed Energia booster rocket from the Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan.
Pavel Sharov from Cosmonauts News Magazine explains the advantages the Soviets had over their rivals in the U.S.
“The USSR surpassed the Americans in technology – U.S. shuttles can only be landed by humans, while the Buran lands automatically,” Sharov said.
Magomet Talboev was one of the pilots who test-flew the shuttle without going into orbit. He said the Soviet authorities had high hopes for the multi-billion dollar spacecraft.
“The Energia-Buran programme was started to get the capability to attack the United States, just like the shuttle was able to attack the USSR. We also wanted to take the Skylab space station from orbit. Buran was supposed to put it in its cargo bay and deliver it back to Earth for studies,” Tolboev said.
But the project was scrapped before these plans could be fulfilled. They sank aalong with the Soviet regime. The Energia-Buran became one of the Soviet Union's last super-projects. Billions of dollars were invested and more than a 1.5 million people worked to design and build it. Nevertheless, the Buran went into orbit only once before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
After nearly a decade in a hangar, the only Buran that went into space was destroyed when a roof collapsed at Baikonur launch facility in 2002.
Although the Buran project ended prematurely, not all the ideas from it were left buried. Some of the technologies developed at the time are now used in everyday life. Fore example, several heat-resistant materials used to make deep-fryers are a direct result of the research done during Buran's development.
Buran technologies may make an unexpected return to the space industry as well.
Because NASA will soon retire its ageing space shuttle fleet, some American and Russian scientists are beginning to think of ways to revive the Buran programme.
It may be more economical than developing an entirely new spacecraft from scratch.
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Buran is not a space shuttle copy. The US space shuttle is an aircraft with an enormous belly mounted fuel tank and two RATO or JATO rockets to get it moving. The Buran is a glider that sits on a rocket. For Buran to take the 80 ton Skylab into space is simply a case of taking the fully laden 110 ton Buran off the rocket and putting the Skylab on (covered in a fairing to protect it). As you can see the rocket can carry rather heavier loads than the Skylab... it already carries the Buran which is already clearly heavier. The complexity and cost and time involved in construction in space means the bigger the bits you can put up in space the easier and cheaper and simpler it is to build and maintain space stations.
The Russians built more than 13 Buran space shuttles (the one in German and Gorky parked are too for slight seeing only), there are 3 of them stored that are ready to fly and they have so many Buran parts everywhere and the Energia Buran launch pad can be easily reconditioned. Putin orginally wanted to start the Buran project but with the May 2002 112a hanger destroying the original flown Buran they put it on hold until othewise. Remember the Buran project was never closed, they left the project open all these years but nothing was ever funded for it. Now the Russian government is about to re-run the Russian space shuttle again and I am so happy for them. These shuttles are so far more advanced than the US shuttles and the payload is more than double the weight and can fly unmanned to the ISS or anywhere in Orbit. The Russian's know how to make the best rockets and the Buran is that example. After all Russia is a gobal Superpower again which they can afford to this important project.
I have my doubts whether this blog site has got anything to do with the former Buran space shuttle. A search of the internet has shown the Russians have been working on designing reusable space vehicles for about the past ten years. It appears money has been a problem and the designs of the space vehicles have changed. Try searching the internet and find a little information about future Russian spaceflight development. Also, have a look at the Falcon 9 rocket from America which my also be used to fly to the International Space Station.