![]() ![]() “I believe that this is a terrible end for these wonderful winged machines. And the second are horrified at what condition they are in, covered in dust and bird poo. The first are surprised that Russia still has shuttles. “Since publishing the photos, I’ve received two types of comments. The successful launch wasn't much to show for many years. It orbited Earth on November 15, 1988, completing an uncrewed, 3 1/2-hour flight. And while everyone knows about the American space shuttles, less is known about the Russian models. Buran (Russian for snowstorm) made only one spaceflight. They are associated with the progress of mankind, with new horizons of knowledge. “I think because space shuttles are known around the world. In 2017, space enthusiasts were thrilled by the news that two Soviet-era space crafts had been found abandoned in the Kazakhstan desert region. There are no restrictions it’s just you and the ruin.” “These are places where you can touch history. You never know what is waiting for you around the next corner or through the next door. There is a sense of mystery in these places. “I like a variety of man-made or underground places that people have left. You describe yourself as an “urban explorer” what does that involve? “I would like to see the hangar, with shuttles and equipment inside, become a museum.” What do you think should be done with the shuttles? “However, I did not know what state they would be in, and didn’t know about the other equipment inside the hangar.” I had read about it in books on the history of Soviet space exploration. “Yes, seeing the shuttles and rocket was the main purpose of my trip to Baikonur. We spoke to the urban explorer about his remarkable find.ĭid you already know what was inside these buildings? Based on plans stolen from NASA, the program chewed up untold billions between 1974. In another lifetime, these prototypes are thought to have been part of the Soviets’ Buran Program, which began in 1974 and was discontinued in 1993.įor Mirebs, a lecturer in computer programming and longtime space enthusiast, it was the discovery of a lifetime. It's a remnant of the USSR’s failed effort at building a reusable space shuttle as part of the Buran Program. Indeed, when 36-year-old Russian photographer Ralph Mirebs discovered the derelict shuttles and rocket at Baikonur Cosmodrome, he was touched by the sad end for these “wonderful winged machines.” With their broken windows, missing tiles and ransacked interiors, these shuttles are a haunting – and fascinating – piece of space history, rarely seen by the outside world. "Since then, in the middle of the desert in Baikonur, Russia sits and rusts away the "Holy Grail of Urbex" ` two shuttles and the space rocket.What was once the gleaming pride and joy of the Soviet space program now lies covered in dirt and bird droppings in a disused hangar in Kazakhstan. "It was the only flight of the "Blizzard". "Launched in the early 1970s and formally suspended in 1993 the Russian Buran programme delivered a shuttle which orbited the Earth on November 15, 1988," Greg says. The programme was officially terminated on 30 June 1993, by President Boris Yeltsin.Īt the time of its cancellation, 20 billion rubles ( £189million) had been spent on the Buran programme. ![]() but not its sad legacy with the lost orbiter in 2002 and the abandoned vehicles. Soviet officials were concerned about a perceived military threat posed by the U.S. The Soviet Union's Buran space shuttle program stands as one of the saddest episodes in aerospace history. The two subsequent orbiters, which were due in 1990 (informally Ptichka) and 1992 (2.01) were never completed. The development of the Buran began in the early 1970s as a response to the U.S. The mass of Buran is quoted as 62 tons, with a maximum payload of 30 tons, for a total lift-off weight of 105 tons.Īfter the first flight of a Buran spacecraft, the programme was suspended due to a lack of funds and the political situation in the Soviet Union. It was the first spaceplane to perform an uncrewed flight, including landing in fully automatic mode. Automated launch sequence performed as specified, and the Energia rocket lifted the vehicle into a temporary orbit before the orbiter separated as programmed.Īfter boosting itself to a higher orbit and completing two orbits around the Earth, the ODU engines fired automatically to begin the descent into the atmosphere, return to the launch site, and horizontal landing on a runway.īuran touched down under its own control 206 minutes after launch. Although the Buran programme was never officially cancelled, the dissolution of the Soviet Union led to funding drying up and this flight never took place. ![]()
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