Buran programme
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|
| Country of origin | Soviet Union/Russia |
|---|---|
| Responsible organization | |
| Purpose | Manned orbital flight and reentry |
| Status | Cancelled |
| Program history | |
| Program duration | 1974-1993 |
| First flight | Buran 1K1 |
| Last flight | Buran 1K1 |
| Successes | 1 |
| Failures | 0 |
| Launch site(s) | |
| Vehicle information | |
| Vehicle type | Spaceplane |
| Crew vehicle |
|
| Launch vehicle(s) | |
The Buran (Russian: Бура́н, IPA: [bʊˈran], "Snowstorm" or "Blizzard") programme, also known as the VKK Space Orbiter (Russian: Воздушно Космический Корабль, "Air Space Ship") programme, was a Soviet and later Russian reusable spacecraft project that began in 1974 at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute and was formally suspended in 1993. In addition to being the designation for the whole Soviet/Russian reusable spacecraft project, Buran was also the name given to Orbiter K1, which completed one unmanned spaceflight in 1988 and was the only Soviet reusable spacecraft to be launched into space. The Buran-class space shuttle orbiters used the expendable Energia rocket as a launch vehicle. They are generally treated as a Soviet equivalent of the United States' Space Shuttle but in the Buran project, only the airplane-shaped orbiter itself was theoretically reusable, and while Orbiter K1 was recovered successfully after its first orbital flight in 1988, it was never reused.
The Buran programme was started by the Soviet Union as a response to the United States Space Shuttle program. The project was the largest and the most expensive in the history of Soviet space exploration. Development work included sending BOR-5 test vehicles on multiple sub-orbital test flights, and atmospheric flights of the OK-GLI aerodynamic prototype. Buran completed one unmanned orbital spaceflight in 1988 before its cancellation in 1993.Orbiter K1, which flew the test flight in 1988 was crushed in a hangar collapse on 12 May 2002 in Kazakhstan. The OK-GLI resides in Technikmuseum Speyer. Although Soviet/Russian Buran spacecraft was similar in appearance to NASA's Space Shuttle, and could similarly operate as a re-entry spaceplane, its internal and functional design was distinct. For example, the main engines during launch were on the Energia rocket and were not taken into orbit by the spacecraft. Smaller rocket engines on the craft's body provided propulsion in orbit and de-orbital burns.
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