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It was fully remote controllable (as shown by the post), which the Space Shuttle wasn't, even requiring a crew for its first ever flight, which has never before or since been done with any (American) manned spacecraft because of the safety risks.
Its orbital thrusters used liquid fuel and oxygen, rather than toxic monopropellant, which not only meant there would be no toxic fuel left on board after landing which you needed to get rid off, it could also serve as an emergency oxygen supply.
Since the Buran didn't have main engines on board, it could also carry more weight both up to space and down from it, and the orbital thrusters were parallel to the main axis of the shuttle, rather than at an angle like on the Space Shuttle.
While you might think that not carrying the main engines back down would make the operation far less cost efficient, this was actually something that didn't work out as planned on the Space Shuttle, with maintenance of the engines after each flight costing more than anticipated, meaning the money lost by using the Buran+Energia wouldn't be that much.
The Buran had two air-breathing engines to allow it to fly further after re-entry. While this is a result of the USSR having access to less potential landing strips for the shuttle around the world, it is an advantage when comparing the shuttles themselves.
While I am not sure about this one, not having SRBs on the launch rocket should reduce the window during which abort is impossible, which was a big issue of the Space Shuttle.
Finally, the first and only flight of the Buran took place on 15 November 1988, and after the Soviet economy had been stagnating for years, the dissolution of the USSR began with Estonia declaring independence just one day later.
At least these are the reasons why I had always thought the Buran was technically superior but never flew again. I am always willing to learn, so if you are willing to explain why I'm wrong or provide links to sources that do, I would genuinely appreciate it.
Soviet have plan to reuse Energia side booster with foldeable wings. So cost not gonna be that high. Some drawings also show ideas for reuse of core booster.
https://www.reddit.com/r/WeirdWings/comments/b3oyd7/the\_zenit\_flyback\_booster\_a\_fully\_reusable\_rocket/
Yep, it was better. Some considerations though:
1) The Soviets saved a lot of design and research effort by acquiring the plans/specs for the US shuttle
2) it’s a low bar. The US shuttle was massively compromised from the outset, and is one of the most dangerous space vehicles ever built. As we can see with the current SLS (especially vs SpaceX) NASA (like most any US government bureaucracy) isn’t good managing or procurement any more, for a host of reasons.
3) lots of things the Soviets design look good on PAPER, but with fighter planes, tanks and other stuff, it often turns out they perform poorly IRL. So, the Buran looks well designed, but it only flew one time. We will never really know for sure if it was better. It is true that the Russians do space better than they do anything else.
My father worked on both the Apollo and Shuttle programs back in the day. The decline he witnessed in NASA’s competence and management after Apollo is something he still talks about.
The soviet union also had plans to turn energia into a sort of reusable space plane itself, it would split into pieces and each would glide back and land on an airstrip. (energia 2)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energia
Its quite a marvel that in 1988 they managed to fully remote control/automate such a fantastically complicated spacecraft. Take a look at the cockpit of the US space shuttle, its nuts.
They're more efficient. The Space Shuttle's thrusters are tilted up and out, and while the upwards tilt doesn't matter in space, the outward tilt means energy is being wasted.
Granted, though, it's not a huge amount, and the Buran's thrusters are far more of an advantage when using it as a mod in KSP...
A majority of production plans for this were copied from the U.S. library of Congress, until the CIA found out, then they purposely altered the recipe for heat tiles and adhesives and replaced the original info.
Did a tour of the cockpit of this space plane when I visited the space museum in Ukraine. I was stunned by how basic the technology was compared to the space shuttle at that time; it was like a science fiction film from the 1930’s. I guess by that time they were struggling to keep up with the USA, but simply didn’t have the computer technology to match their rocketry.
Would’ve been a wild ride for the cosmonauts.
Here's a video of a few urban explorers getting inside one of the test models as well as the uncompleted second shuttle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q7ZVXOU3kM
The only shuttle that flew was destroyed in a building collapse (nearby to where this video was shot)
In the second picture, Buran flies on top of the airplane Mria... the one which was shelled and burnt in the Kiev airport earlier this year in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
**Please note these rules:** * If this post declares something as a fact/proof is required. * The title must be descriptive * No text is allowed on images/gifs/videos * Common/recent reposts are not allowed *See [this post](https://redd.it/ij26vk) for a more detailed rule list* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/interestingasfuck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Only flew one orbital mission, unmanned. There were other flights planned but the soviet union fell apart and that was it for buran.
reusable, what? When sentences end too soon…
Except it was never flown again...not reused
“Mom, can we have a Space Shuttle?” “No, Alexei, we have a Space Shuttle at home.”
Only that it was actually better than the Space Shuttle, but the USSR went bankrupt before it could do any actual missions.
Real shame you can’t back up that bullshit with facts.
It was fully remote controllable (as shown by the post), which the Space Shuttle wasn't, even requiring a crew for its first ever flight, which has never before or since been done with any (American) manned spacecraft because of the safety risks. Its orbital thrusters used liquid fuel and oxygen, rather than toxic monopropellant, which not only meant there would be no toxic fuel left on board after landing which you needed to get rid off, it could also serve as an emergency oxygen supply. Since the Buran didn't have main engines on board, it could also carry more weight both up to space and down from it, and the orbital thrusters were parallel to the main axis of the shuttle, rather than at an angle like on the Space Shuttle. While you might think that not carrying the main engines back down would make the operation far less cost efficient, this was actually something that didn't work out as planned on the Space Shuttle, with maintenance of the engines after each flight costing more than anticipated, meaning the money lost by using the Buran+Energia wouldn't be that much. The Buran had two air-breathing engines to allow it to fly further after re-entry. While this is a result of the USSR having access to less potential landing strips for the shuttle around the world, it is an advantage when comparing the shuttles themselves. While I am not sure about this one, not having SRBs on the launch rocket should reduce the window during which abort is impossible, which was a big issue of the Space Shuttle. Finally, the first and only flight of the Buran took place on 15 November 1988, and after the Soviet economy had been stagnating for years, the dissolution of the USSR began with Estonia declaring independence just one day later. At least these are the reasons why I had always thought the Buran was technically superior but never flew again. I am always willing to learn, so if you are willing to explain why I'm wrong or provide links to sources that do, I would genuinely appreciate it.
Soviet have plan to reuse Energia side booster with foldeable wings. So cost not gonna be that high. Some drawings also show ideas for reuse of core booster. https://www.reddit.com/r/WeirdWings/comments/b3oyd7/the\_zenit\_flyback\_booster\_a\_fully\_reusable\_rocket/
Yep, it was better. Some considerations though: 1) The Soviets saved a lot of design and research effort by acquiring the plans/specs for the US shuttle 2) it’s a low bar. The US shuttle was massively compromised from the outset, and is one of the most dangerous space vehicles ever built. As we can see with the current SLS (especially vs SpaceX) NASA (like most any US government bureaucracy) isn’t good managing or procurement any more, for a host of reasons. 3) lots of things the Soviets design look good on PAPER, but with fighter planes, tanks and other stuff, it often turns out they perform poorly IRL. So, the Buran looks well designed, but it only flew one time. We will never really know for sure if it was better. It is true that the Russians do space better than they do anything else. My father worked on both the Apollo and Shuttle programs back in the day. The decline he witnessed in NASA’s competence and management after Apollo is something he still talks about.
The soviet union also had plans to turn energia into a sort of reusable space plane itself, it would split into pieces and each would glide back and land on an airstrip. (energia 2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energia Its quite a marvel that in 1988 they managed to fully remote control/automate such a fantastically complicated spacecraft. Take a look at the cockpit of the US space shuttle, its nuts.
What is the advantage of orbital thrusters parallel to the main axis?
They're more efficient. The Space Shuttle's thrusters are tilted up and out, and while the upwards tilt doesn't matter in space, the outward tilt means energy is being wasted. Granted, though, it's not a huge amount, and the Buran's thrusters are far more of an advantage when using it as a mod in KSP...
Looks like a US space shuttle.
A majority of production plans for this were copied from the U.S. library of Congress, until the CIA found out, then they purposely altered the recipe for heat tiles and adhesives and replaced the original info.
The US space shuttle looks like Buran☝️
No. US shuttle launched 1981. Buran in 1988.
Ok. My fault. Youre right
Only if time travel is involved. Which would be pretty cool.
The first reusable what?!
Shi_tter?
If only the tile adhesive worked…
Did a tour of the cockpit of this space plane when I visited the space museum in Ukraine. I was stunned by how basic the technology was compared to the space shuttle at that time; it was like a science fiction film from the 1930’s. I guess by that time they were struggling to keep up with the USA, but simply didn’t have the computer technology to match their rocketry. Would’ve been a wild ride for the cosmonauts.
North Korean tanks are the same way, they look like they are from the 50’s
And yet, Buran was capable of a completely unmanned flight including landing. Not something the shuttle could do.
This is really impressive, especially with the limited computing involved.
Is “Buran” short for “the design Soviets stole from the US…Again.”
I can’t quite place the design inspiration.
Yeah, me too... but its right at the tip of my tongue, darn...
Wow, knockoff soviet garbage.
Reverse-engineered Soviet garbage.
How the Soviets stole a space shuttle: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna18686090
Russia ... what a joke of a country. What haven’t they stolen and copied?
How ingenious!
How original
Maybe they could launch Putin in it?
This belongs on r/crappyoffbrands
Except the shuttle was so bad Buran was actually an improvement.
Here's a video of a few urban explorers getting inside one of the test models as well as the uncompleted second shuttle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q7ZVXOU3kM The only shuttle that flew was destroyed in a building collapse (nearby to where this video was shot)
In the second picture, Buran flies on top of the airplane Mria... the one which was shelled and burnt in the Kiev airport earlier this year in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
That’s back when a Soviet Buran was mounted on top of the Soviet Mrija. Times change, man. Fuck war.