Correction: I should have explained myself better. The American Space Shuttle Orbitor initially had ejector seats but they were removed with the idea being similar to what I said in that they wouldn't have been especially useful anyway.
Not only is the entire Buran an illustration of their copying of the Shuttle, so are the ejection seats later removed by the US. As an example of a foolish decision made because of an incorrect "the US must be correct" assumption by some in the USSR, they copied our HORRIBLE M17A1 gas mask. An instructor in one of my NBC training classes pointed that out.
The first STS launch was the first time it had been flown, unlike other manned boosters which had unmanned launches to test them. John Young and Robert Crippens had balls of steel. And ejection seats for the first launch. No good when at high speed or in space as noted though... That museum is the best I have ever visited.
The spaceflight Buran orbiters would not have had ejection seats, either, once they became operational with crews larger than two, maybe four, for much the same reason as it was on their U.S. cousins. You see, with crew on the mid-deck level, it would've been extremely difficult to safely eject out and the with the flight deck above and crew ejecting out of that at nearly the same time the plumes likely would've killed or hardware to deflect it would've been too heavy and complex. It also would've forced the mid-deck passengers to eject sideways; not impossible, but also extremely high-risk. The Soviets copied the U.S. Shuttle orbiters too well in that regard.
One thing that caught my eye was the exposed wire bundles running around the inside of the orbiter. I am a retired electrician and have spent thousands of hours wiring control panels with wire bundles exactly like that. The technicians that did the wiring did an excellent job. Their work looks extremely professional.
Everybody did their best, of course. But they were competing with a wealthier, more efficient economy - and it broken them. Just as the USA intended. Sadly, it's the Russian people who paid the price.
@@AnarchySane It'd plotted an unexpected but later proven optimal course through a major storm, and executed a flawless landing in the crosswind speed in which no Space Shuttle landing has ever been attempted. An entirely new programming language with early AI elements and text+graphical syntax has been invented for Buran. No other landing technology came even close to this in the 40yrs since. Planes auto-land at a several times slower speed on select runways using a series of beacons and a fairly rigid "if all goes well" program. What other landing program can plan an approach from scratch through a major storm and land in 60+km/h crosswind with no controller or pilot input?
Don’t forget their Antonov Cargo plane and a bunch of smaller airliners, locomotives, Oldtimer cars, jet fighters like a Phantom and a Mig 21 as well as a well preserved BF 109 and a Fieseler Storch! Great Museum, been there often. Sinsheim is also amazing, more tanks and F1 cars there, along with the Concorde and it’s Russian counterpart. They complement each other well!
What a marvel the YT algorithm is… it just happened that I have been YESTERDAY in Speyer and went to the museum. While indeed I found it a little strange why their collection of Rallye cars and motorcycles is in the Space Hangar, it is absolutely recommended going there. My personal highlights besides the Buran: - a decommissioned 747 where you actually can climb into the freight compartment and can walk on one of the wings - an Antonov 22 where you stand in the gigantic freight compartment - an AN 26 from the former GDR governement… with a Tschaika car parked in the rear cabin - a Lufthansa Vickery Viscount - plenty of US and Russian fighter jets (F15, F4 Phantom, Starfighter, Su-22, a Messerschmitt BF109, Ships: - a rescue cruiser - a submarine from the 70s Several very impressive steam and diesel locomotives …. A more complete list here. NOTE: it lists the inventory of the TWO museums in Speyer and in Sinsheim (which are 40km apart); I haven’t been to the latter but will go there soon in order to see their Concorde and „Concordski“ 😂 www.flugzeug-lexikon.de/Sinsheim-Speyer/sinsheim-speyer.html
First of all thanks a for the great video!:) However as a great enthusiast of Buran and the guy whose relatives were actually working on that program when this exact test vehicle was flying in LII test facility near Zhukovsky town, I couldn't resist to correct you in a few statements:) 1. Turbofan engines. Original design, as you correctly mentioned, involved 2 turbofan AL-31F engines, that you can see next to the rudder on this vehicle. The other 2 engines were not supposed to be used in space, but only provided the power for test flights, that the vehicle could take off by itself. That's why you can see that the upper 2 engines have the thermal protection and intake shutters, while the other 2 engines don't, having their pylons even blocking the maneuver thrusters, as you can see at 3:22. However during the test flights it was proven that these engines will only bring unnecessary complexity and they were completely omitted from the actual space vehicles. While Buran 1.01 and 1.02 still had designated places in their frames for these engines, the second production series of Buran 2.01, 2.02, 2.03 didn't even have any space in a frame to accommodate these engines. 2. BTS 002 (the official code of this test vehicle) was never intended for a space flight, therefore it was built with some simplifications: 1) Thermal protection tiles that you see are fake (styrofoam) 2) Tiles layout is not realistic, thermal protection matts are completely missing. (This is how it should look like www.buran.ru/images/jpg/bbur493.jpg) 3) Front gear has been modified to increase the angle of attack to support the take off. The space flight gear was different. 4) The vehicle is completely missing thermal isolation inside the cargo bay and gear bays. (www.buran.ru/images/jpg/niihim23.jpg - this is the one that flew in space) 5) The wing leading edge is made of aluminum instead of carbon-carbon composites. 6) Cockpit was fitted with the large number of additional instruments (upper middle section) to control turbojet engines. Besides, while being on display in Sydney and Bahrain, it was left unattended and was heavily vandalized, so the cockpit you see is not 100% authentic and was not historically accurately restored. (The real cockpit in the first unmanned space flight - www.buran.ru/images/jpg/cocpit3.jpg and the cockpit of this test vehicle in early 90s in it's original shape - www.buran.ru/images/jpg/bbur14.jpg ) 7) It's missing some equipment for space flights, like life support systems and part of on board computers. The tests it performed were focused on the automatic landing development.
Paul, your videos as a breath of fresh air - simple, sweet, and to the point. Full of information, no pantomime is needed to dress it up. We need more creators like you; simple, honest and dedicated people sharing their their passion with the world just to inform - no seeking of of fame and fortune for fame and fortune's sake. No sprinkles, no sparkles. Thank you for your dedication and hard work. You're an example more people should follow.
Yes it's a cool museum. I'm into cars too but didn't realise it was a big part of the museums. It's always special seeing the Miura and F40 in the metal.
You are right. There is no place to find “Buran” on exposition. The only one vehicle named “Buran” has been destroyed due to hangar collapse in Kazakhstan. “Buran” name is the same as name “Enterprise” for space shuttle. This one in video is «БТС-002».
@@Slavnyivery interesting I just watched a video showing how a group of people broke into that hangar where the Buran was stored in Kazakhstan to explore and film it. I saw on the comments that people were wanting to petition the government to remove it to be preserved in a museum. I guess it's good this prototype is in the museum and what a waste on the part of all that history and the historic hangar itself lost to neglect. We are losing a lot of Cold War history on this side of the big lake too. There is a big site only a few minutes from my residence that I would like to document and explore more. Perhaps when I conclude my own exploration I'll post it so everyone can see. The best parts of the complex were destroyed in 1996 by the government
I watched this orbiter being floated down the Rhine to Speyer when I was stationed in Germany. That center stabilizer below the main "engines" broke off when the crane/hoist holding the rear failed while transferring the orbiter to a smaller barge. My family and I visited Speyer soon after it went on display and the museum was nearly empty when compared to the latest video.
I've been there back in 2014 and got really impressed about what a big RC model the Buran looks like. Not a surprise that it only went into orbit unmanned. Anyway it's coool!
I always love to see the Speyer and Sinsheim museums getting some international coverage! If you are even sightly interested in anything technical and you happen to visit Germany be sure to check them out. And if you go early on a working day outside holiday season you have the museums basically for yourself.
This Buran sat dissembled in the deserts of Kazakhstan where it was for sale on the internet for $10,000,000 USD, (before appearing in Sydney) also on the same page was a second MIR Spacestation (complete with display catwalks) for $3,000,000.00 and two Tupolov TU-144 supersonic transport planes, one still wearing NASA signage as it had been leased by them, one of the Tupolov was minus its engines. There were also Migs for sale too. Interesting repaint on Buran. The lettering on the tail is way bigger than the original when it was in Sydney, I have a heat tile off the tail that contains the third C of CCCP. Both top and bottom tails of the C are on the same tile, where as now it covers two tiles. After leaving Sydney this Buran went to America bought by a radio station, full payment failed and it was repossessed (same scenario when it was in Sydney in 2000) it the went to Bahrain where it sat abandoned deteriorating even more before going to Germany and indoors, thankfully There is no life support in this Buran as it was never going to carry crew, being fully autonomous.
1. если бы у пилотов Челленджера были катапультируемые сидения, то они были бы живы. 2. на Буране стояли К36РБ, предназначенные для спасения экипажа на высотах до 25км и скоростях до 3М. и еще одно замечание. За последние 40 лет в США произошло две аварии с астронавтами - все погибли. в России - одна - все живы. Кто еще будет говорить про ценность жизни в СССР? 1. If the Challenger pilots had ejection seats, they would be alive. 2. on the "Buran" there were K 36RB, designed to rescue the crew at altitudes up to 25km and speeds up to 3M. and one more remark. Over the past 40 years, there have been two accidents with astronauts in the United States - all were killed. in Russia - one - everyone is alive. Who else will talk about the value of life in the USSR?
Thank you for the video. I think it's worth mentioning too that the Buran is capable of landing automatically from re-entry, as was the case of its only test flight which had no one on board.
Of note - Buran was capable of autoland (indeed, since its only spaceflight was uncrewed, it had to be.) The US Space Shuttle Orbiter wasn't. The US did add "almost autoland" to the Space Shuttle orbiters late in their service life - with one notable exception - there was no way to automate the lowering of the landing gear. And to use the autoland, cabled would have to be run from one side of the cabin to the other. The thinking was that if the orbiter successfully reentered, but something meant they didn't think a landing would be safe, most of the crew would bail out (open the side hatch, jump out and parachute out,) while the commander and pilot would wait until closer to the landing zone (more dangerously lower in altitude,) before connecting the cables, manually deploying the landing gear, then bail out and let the orbiter attempt to autoland. (Or, a scenario they thought more likely - that something would happen during reentry that wouldn't have allowed the orbiter to reach a valid airfield, so all the crew would bail out at higher altitude, and the orbiter would "autoland" into the ocean or Gulf of Mexico.)
I didn't know there was a 4th Buran Unit. I only knew 3 that were abandoned at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. 2 in a state of abandonment almost finished and another which was destroyed in a collapse of the hangar next door. I was shocked to know that there is a 4th Buran!!
Why did the buran not see usage? The ussr collapsed at just the right time? The space race just wasn’t worth it going forward? If thats the case why didnt the Americans implement some of their upgrades?
@@marcofransowitz4773 there was no money. due to the economic crisis. what they could do was join with NASA and ask the USA to help develop it. although in the end the STS endeavor was used for missions with the Russians docking at the MIR station
The leading orbiter of the two at Bakonur is a full scale replica as some of its internals are wood, the second was 95-97% ready to fly, there was actually 5 to my knowledge, the first model became a restaurant in Gorky Park
I’m not sure if any one has already mentioned it. A TH-camr called Bald and Bankrupt broke into a hangar about a year ago and took video of the one in Kazakhstan.
The Buran system had the potential to be much better than the US Space Shuttle, but the rapid collapse of the Soviet Union meant that there simply wasn't funding or political will to keep it going.
A hang glider with a spit wad shooter would be better than the American space shuttle. Literally any space vehicle before or since the US space shuttle is/was better than the US space shuttle.
I did not realize that an example of this shuttle existed in a museum. I have only ever seen the other two that were wasting away in storage at the planned launch site.
They were not removed after STS-1. They were operational through STS-4, the end of the Orbital Flight Test program and kept in place, but disabled during STS-5 (first operational Shuttle flight and first manned spacecraft to carry four astronauts) and STS-9 (first Spacelab mission). After STS-9, Columbia underwent an extensive 18 month refit that saw the ejection seats removed and replaced with standard seats.
I know this comment comes late but at the 9:53 point in the video where it shows the rear engines the jet engine mounts are covering ,it looks like, one reaction motor outlet and part of another.
The NASA Space Shuttle *did* had ejector seats during the first trials. But was later removed as it could only eject the pilots and not the rest of the crew.
Interestingly this orbiter has hydrogen and oxygen thrusters and engines (with some solid fuel backups). Which is different from the US version which used aerozine 50 and dinitrogen tetroxide. (There was also hydrogen and oxygen for the fuel cells which provided electrical power.)
According to wikipedia (no actual source, sadly) the Buran OMS used syntin and LOX for it's propulsion with an ISP of 362s (Hydrolox would likely provide better ISP). I think this is a bit more plausible, as hydrogen boil-off might be too severe during long-duration missions.
@@debott4538 the on orbit propulsion system on the US orbiter were derivatives of those on the Apollo CSM. The Soviets could have, similarly, used parts from Soyuz. Instead they did something innovative. More innovative than autoland, given that the first autoland of an airliner (G-ARPR) had taken place in 1965.
The soviets did realize that the auxiliary turbofan engines would likely not survive any reentry and did omit them permanently from future planned Buran vehicles
Our orbiter did have ejection seats for the first few flights. However, when they stated to Cary more crew on the second deck where they couldn't eject. They removed them from the flight deck.
thanks for bringing us near museum piece of Buran , though i have seen its other pieces interior engines ,fuel tanks cockpit docking port etc. in videos brought by girls and boys by sneaking in secretly in abundant maintenance hangers in kazhakistan , Baikanur cosmodrome area along with huge energia rocket , but its still interesting .
Thank god they preserved one. both the Buran and the the US space shuttle. Programs could have been much more had both nations could have worked together. Interesting fact the Buran had an auto landing feature
Well, yes and no. The system itself was actually tested and gave satisfactory results. When it came time for the crewed autoland test, there was some slight concerns and Mission Control cancelled it. Wasn’t necessarily “dangerous”. Landing and re entry were planned on days where weather was feasible for manual reentry and landing. If I am correct, the Buran was intended to be flown entirely by the computers and those at Mission Control. So, two different spacecrafts entirely.
The first US space shuttle missions DID have ejection seats. Second, the design of the Buran is based heavily on the Shuttle as we know, but that's because as NASA is a public funded organisation, the shuttle plans and technical drawings were freely available, you just had to ask, and the Russian embassy did just that! That's how they got the design info on the shuttle.
*AMAZING WHAT MAN CAN BUILD. FROM SUPER HIGH SKYSCRAPERS, FOOTBALL STADIUMS, AND SPACE SHUTTLES AND SATELLITES, ETC.* MAKES YOU WONDER IF SOME SCIENCE WAS BROUGHT FROM ANOTHER SOURCE OF INTELLIGENCE
If the life in USSR was not that important, why the first flight was unmanned and why they had to employ automatic landing system? Wouldn't be easier to just put people inside?
You should do a video on Endeavor at the California Science Center! If I’m correct they’re currently building a new display for it where you’ll be able to see into the payload bay
3:30 Those two rockets on the rear are not main engines but rather are the OMS (orbital maneuvering system). They would have been needed to exit orbit and return to Earth. If following the American shuttle’s design, they would have used hypergolic fuels.
@ 4:00. You fell for one of the big propaganda urban legends. The jet engines were only ever used on the OK-GLI Buran ((Buran Analog BST-02) ) since there was no large aircraft at the time that could lift it for drop tests as was the case with the 747 for the U.S. orbiter Enterprise, and so they were mounted to the test orbiter so it could fly high enough and then the engines were cut so it could test orbiter glide characteristics. The Soviet engineers thought they might put jet engines on the spaceflight-capable orbiters, but ran into problems regarding launch as well as reentry heating and aerodynamic stress issues that made mounting them on the exterior of the vehicle extremely problematic, and so they were dropped. U.S. engineers in the U.S. did the same with Shuttle years prior and for similar reasons, including eliminating cost, weight, and complexity.
@@d.b.q.p.1540 He talks about the stereotype of the Soviet space program in the West. In particular, about the fact that the Commies are backward and can only copy other people's technologies and do it terribly, and in general about the fact that the entire space industry of the USSR was not unpopular and did not seek to protect astronauts in case of emergency situations
@@Histor-recon-h5x чушь, когда в здании музея Капитолия висит табличка: догнать и перегнать Советский союз! Америка слишком много получила ученых и технологий после мародерства и вербовки в поствоенной Европе и после распада СССР, воровская и гнилая недострана
I went to see this buran in Sydney. It was on display near Darling Harbour. It was not long after 911 2001 terror attack. I remember feeling on edge and suspicious of everyone.
Is their any video of the Buran being launched, staging or anything that proves it was ever in orbit? When STS-1 launched (and all future launches) there were dozens (100s) of high speed cameras filming it.
There are a few snippets of the Buran launch: th-cam.com/video/biFPD4Rf4hw/w-d-xo.html Nasa says it was in orbit and that is good enough for me: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1988-100A
great video, i learned some notable things here about the jets. whose shuttle was better? i think the form factor was fatally flawed and neither one was suitable for a long term program. i think the soviets may have come to understand that, and therefore abandoned a costly and impractical boondoggle rather than limp it along for decades as the US did. hard to say since the USSR crumbled around that time anyways
The usual stereotype formed by Western propaganda. The world's first parachute was invented by a Russian engineer Kotelnikov. Only Russian K-50 and K-52 helicopters have ejection seats. In the entire history of manned space flights, four Soviet cosmonauts and seventeen American cosmonauts have died. The irretrievable losses of the armed forces of the USSR and the Axis countries on the Eastern Front amount to 11,444,100 and 8,649,200 people, that is, the ratio of irretrievable losses is approximately 1.3:1 or less. But it should be borne in mind that with an almost equal number of prisoners of war during the war years (4,559,000 Soviet soldiers and 4,376,300 German soldiers), 86.5%, or 3,787,000 soldiers, returned home from Soviet captivity, and 44.2%, or 2,016,000 soldiers, from German.
Its very simple, just look at the invasion of Ukraine where russia sends meat waves to wear out the Ukrainians. Or look at the russian people who often go without because those who work in the supply chain line their pockets disregarding the shortages that they create. Do you own research and you will find a lot.
I just remembered a couple. When the kursk had an accident the russians refused help until it was too late, all the saliors that survived the accident perished. When the Chernobyl accident happened russia did not inform anyone downwind of the radiation and delayed evacuating people and did not even inform the town so people that could leave on their own would be able to go.
Russia fires missiles at civilian targets in ukraine including schools and an orphanage. This provides no military advantage but just kills innocent civilians. 'Nuff said.
Thanks again, Paul. So good. Love the Buran. A real shame it didn’t succeed. Bigger and better in every way. Even Energia was better. Do you plan to visit the Cosmodrome?
The ejection seats were meant to be used in the case of an after-launch abort. If the U.S. Space Shuttle had been built as-intended, with the ejectable crew cabin, the crew of the Challenger would have survived (please read up on the ejection system of the F111). The Columbia crew were unfortunately already dead during launch, though nobody knew it at the time.
So, you are partially correct in that the American Shuttle's ejection seats were removed, but it wasn't because they wouldn't have been effective. It's because it was deemed inhumane...only 2 people could eject while the rest of the crew would die. For this reason, it was determined that they would be removed. It's VERY debatable whether ejection seats would have enabled survivors for Challenger as there is evidence that at least some of the crew survived the initial vehicle breakup. For Columbia...yeah, no...ejection seats wouldn't have helped. For the Buran flight test article you are seeing here (which I have also visited), yes, the initial plan was to have at least the engines seen up by the vertical stabilizer, BUT, it was determined that it would cause a lot of problems and most likely wouldn't work. Your explanation that the development was delayed is the first I have heard. As for espionage, yeah, there was probably some, but the Shuttle program was very public because it was not a military project (though it had quite a bit of funding from the CIA and the military, which is what drove a lot of its design, including the solid rocket boosters and the massive payload bay). Because the Shuttle was very public, the information was relatively easy to get, so the Soviets did a LOT of copying. Having seen the scale model used for atmospheric reentry study...the Buran scares me, and I have a feeling that they would have experienced a Columbia type disaster well before the Americans did.
How the heck did Germany get it? *wasn't another crushed under a collapse roof incident (which killed several workers on the roof when it caved in)? I'm not seeing any confirmation that the final version would have powered jet engines (it seems that would sacrifice precious cargo space and throw on a lot of excess weight) - also I don't think that tube was on the orbital version, it was similar to the Enterprise which was used during drop tests. It's absent in this photo of the launch in 1988 : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_(spacecraft)#/media/File:Buran.jpg A little checking confirmed the OK-GLI was an atmospheric test vehicle - it never went to space : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OK-GLI
The Orbiter was forced to stay in Bahrain Harbour after some chinese guys claimed they would own it. The Museum however had contacts in Bahrain and bought the shuttle. After five years they finally owned it and transported it arround the world!
Throwing a 60 ton space plane into orbit is always impressive, in a sense. But the most unimpressive thing about Buran is that it's a supposedly reusable vehicle that flew exactly - once. We all know of the Soviets' economic problems, but you really have to question whether that vehicle was found to be capable of reflight once it got back the first time.
The Russians are Known for shoddy engineering from time to time. Evidence in ukraine easily destroying all the Russian tanks. Could be that it wasn’t capable like the American shuttle.
@@PaulStewartAviation Yes. You surprised me by even explaining how they were protected in space flight. I don't fully believe this configuration actually went to space. Did you see the video of those guys burglarizing Bikonur and the Buran prototypes? Disgraceful. I love your reporting btw! Also btw there is no visual evidence ie scoring that this prototype ever reentered the atmosphere during reentry.
@@PaulStewartAviation I saw a little BypaH model in a park in Moscow some years ago...maybe 15'long. I always wondered if it was part of the actual program until I saw this.
@@PaulStewartAviation I seem to remember something said about it extending the range after reentry...not for atmospheric testing. I just think it is a problematic design.
Correction: I should have explained myself better. The American Space Shuttle Orbitor initially had ejector seats but they were removed with the idea being similar to what I said in that they wouldn't have been especially useful anyway.
Thanks for the video, Paul! I always enjoy watching, and this one was great as usual!
Challengers breakup was well documented to show the crew survived the SRB and instead died from impact. Ejection would have likely saved some
Not only is the entire Buran an illustration of their copying of the Shuttle, so are the ejection seats later removed by the US. As an example of a foolish decision made because of an incorrect "the US must be correct" assumption by some in the USSR, they copied our HORRIBLE M17A1 gas mask. An instructor in one of my NBC training classes pointed that out.
The first STS launch was the first time it had been flown, unlike other manned boosters which had unmanned launches to test them. John Young and Robert Crippens had balls of steel. And ejection seats for the first launch. No good when at high speed or in space as noted though...
That museum is the best I have ever visited.
The spaceflight Buran orbiters would not have had ejection seats, either, once they became operational with crews larger than two, maybe four, for much the same reason as it was on their U.S. cousins. You see, with crew on the mid-deck level, it would've been extremely difficult to safely eject out and the with the flight deck above and crew ejecting out of that at nearly the same time the plumes likely would've killed or hardware to deflect it would've been too heavy and complex. It also would've forced the mid-deck passengers to eject sideways; not impossible, but also extremely high-risk.
The Soviets copied the U.S. Shuttle orbiters too well in that regard.
One thing that caught my eye was the exposed wire bundles running around the inside of the orbiter. I am a retired electrician and have spent thousands of hours wiring control panels with wire bundles exactly like that. The technicians that did the wiring did an excellent job. Their work looks extremely professional.
Everybody did their best, of course. But they were competing with a wealthier, more efficient economy - and it broken them.
Just as the USA intended.
Sadly, it's the Russian people who paid the price.
The Soviet Buran flew only once in 1988. It took off, orbited, and landed without crew. The autopilot was very sophisticated and required no crew.
Correct
Sofisticated? It's cool, but there's nothing remarkable about it. The technologies of that time could allow this.
СОВЕТСКАЯ АВТОМАТИКА ПОРОЖАЕТ
@@AnarchySaneYou arent remarkable
@@AnarchySane It'd plotted an unexpected but later proven optimal course through a major storm, and executed a flawless landing in the crosswind speed in which no Space Shuttle landing has ever been attempted. An entirely new programming language with early AI elements and text+graphical syntax has been invented for Buran. No other landing technology came even close to this in the 40yrs since. Planes auto-land at a several times slower speed on select runways using a series of beacons and a fairly rigid "if all goes well" program. What other landing program can plan an approach from scratch through a major storm and land in 60+km/h crosswind with no controller or pilot input?
that museum looks insane. really cool to see a bunch of group b cars displayed along with aircraft
That is just 1 hangar. There is another one over there, and there are two more in Sinsheim, their sister museum.
The museum even has a building with fairground mills/attractions and a couple of submarines in the open field together with a B-747
Don’t forget their Antonov Cargo plane and a bunch of smaller airliners, locomotives, Oldtimer cars, jet fighters like a Phantom and a Mig 21 as well as a well preserved BF 109 and a Fieseler Storch! Great Museum, been there often. Sinsheim is also amazing, more tanks and F1 cars there, along with the Concorde and it’s Russian counterpart. They complement each other well!
agreed! I didn't go there thinking I'd enjoy the cars but i did! It's pretty special seeing the F40 and 250GT!
What a marvel the YT algorithm is… it just happened that I have been YESTERDAY in Speyer and went to the museum. While indeed I found it a little strange why their collection of Rallye cars and motorcycles is in the Space Hangar, it is absolutely recommended going there. My personal highlights besides the Buran:
- a decommissioned 747 where you actually can climb into the freight compartment and can walk on one of the wings
- an Antonov 22 where you stand in the gigantic freight compartment
- an AN 26 from the former GDR governement… with a Tschaika car parked in the rear cabin
- a Lufthansa Vickery Viscount
- plenty of US and Russian fighter jets (F15, F4 Phantom, Starfighter, Su-22, a Messerschmitt BF109,
Ships:
- a rescue cruiser
- a submarine from the 70s
Several very impressive steam and diesel locomotives
….
A more complete list here. NOTE: it lists the inventory of the TWO museums in Speyer and in Sinsheim (which are 40km apart); I haven’t been to the latter but will go there soon in order to see their Concorde and „Concordski“ 😂
www.flugzeug-lexikon.de/Sinsheim-Speyer/sinsheim-speyer.html
First of all thanks a for the great video!:) However as a great enthusiast of Buran and the guy whose relatives were actually working on that program when this exact test vehicle was flying in LII test facility near Zhukovsky town, I couldn't resist to correct you in a few statements:)
1. Turbofan engines.
Original design, as you correctly mentioned, involved 2 turbofan AL-31F engines, that you can see next to the rudder on this vehicle. The other 2 engines were not supposed to be used in space, but only provided the power for test flights, that the vehicle could take off by itself. That's why you can see that the upper 2 engines have the thermal protection and intake shutters, while the other 2 engines don't, having their pylons even blocking the maneuver thrusters, as you can see at 3:22.
However during the test flights it was proven that these engines will only bring unnecessary complexity and they were completely omitted from the actual space vehicles. While Buran 1.01 and 1.02 still had designated places in their frames for these engines, the second production series of Buran 2.01, 2.02, 2.03 didn't even have any space in a frame to accommodate these engines.
2. BTS 002 (the official code of this test vehicle) was never intended for a space flight, therefore it was built with some simplifications:
1) Thermal protection tiles that you see are fake (styrofoam)
2) Tiles layout is not realistic, thermal protection matts are completely missing. (This is how it should look like www.buran.ru/images/jpg/bbur493.jpg)
3) Front gear has been modified to increase the angle of attack to support the take off. The space flight gear was different.
4) The vehicle is completely missing thermal isolation inside the cargo bay and gear bays. (www.buran.ru/images/jpg/niihim23.jpg - this is the one that flew in space)
5) The wing leading edge is made of aluminum instead of carbon-carbon composites.
6) Cockpit was fitted with the large number of additional instruments (upper middle section) to control turbojet engines. Besides, while being on display in Sydney and Bahrain, it was left unattended and was heavily vandalized, so the cockpit you see is not 100% authentic and was not historically accurately restored. (The real cockpit in the first unmanned space flight - www.buran.ru/images/jpg/cocpit3.jpg and the cockpit of this test vehicle in early 90s in it's original shape - www.buran.ru/images/jpg/bbur14.jpg )
7) It's missing some equipment for space flights, like life support systems and part of on board computers. The tests it performed were focused on the automatic landing development.
Thanks for the extra info
Paul, your videos as a breath of fresh air - simple, sweet, and to the point. Full of information, no pantomime is needed to dress it up. We need more creators like you; simple, honest and dedicated people sharing their their passion with the world just to inform - no seeking of of fame and fortune for fame and fortune's sake. No sprinkles, no sparkles.
Thank you for your dedication and hard work. You're an example more people should follow.
Thanks Paul for this great video!
I never thought I'd see a Miura parked under a Buran. Looks like an incredible museum!
Yes it's a cool museum. I'm into cars too but didn't realise it was a big part of the museums. It's always special seeing the Miura and F40 in the metal.
You outdid yourself once again. Amazing tourr!
Wow! I didn’t even know there was a Buran on display anywhere in the world. Such a cool video!
Moscow, VDNKh site. "Buran" shuttle photo. The exhibition is permanent.
You are right. There is no place to find “Buran” on exposition. The only one vehicle named “Buran” has been destroyed due to hangar collapse in Kazakhstan. “Buran” name is the same as name “Enterprise” for space shuttle. This one in video is «БТС-002».
@@Slavnyivery interesting
I just watched a video showing how a group of people broke into that hangar where the Buran was stored in Kazakhstan to explore and film it. I saw on the comments that people were wanting to petition the government to remove it to be preserved in a museum. I guess it's good this prototype is in the museum and what a waste on the part of all that history and the historic hangar itself lost to neglect. We are losing a lot of Cold War history on this side of the big lake too. There is a big site only a few minutes from my residence that I would like to document and explore more. Perhaps when I conclude my own exploration I'll post it so everyone can see. The best parts of the complex were destroyed in 1996 by the government
Looks like a cool museum, I had no idea about it before...its on my list now for sure.
Hey 🙏 thx I will definitely go and visit Speyer !!! Thx
I watched this orbiter being floated down the Rhine to Speyer when I was stationed in Germany. That center stabilizer below the main "engines" broke off when the crane/hoist holding the rear failed while transferring the orbiter to a smaller barge. My family and I visited Speyer soon after it went on display and the museum was nearly empty when compared to the latest video.
I've been there back in 2014 and got really impressed about what a big RC model the Buran looks like. Not a surprise that it only went into orbit unmanned. Anyway it's coool!
Amazing.... Looks so unique......never seen anything like this before......
😂
Cool stuff. They have a pretty good collection of classic cars and Group B rally cars as well.
The Miura!
Beautiful shuttle,thanks for your video ❤
Thanks for watching!
I always love to see the Speyer and Sinsheim museums getting some international coverage! If you are even sightly interested in anything technical and you happen to visit Germany be sure to check them out. And if you go early on a working day outside holiday season you have the museums basically for yourself.
Yep it’s brilliant. I didnt expect to enjoy the cars as much as I did!
One of my My favs is the ex gunnery range F104G round the back of this museum. Much of the internal spar sysyem is revealed for close inspection!😊
Another amazing detailed tour.
Very good job.
Thank you Paul.
That row of group B cars in an aviation hangar is goals
Fascinating; this museum has moved up my long-term bucket list. Thank you for such an informative video.
What a superb video thank you
Awesome. Im living 1 hour from Speyer and was Visiting the museum Last week. Sad that i missed your visit there 😅
The Group A and Group B WRC rally cars of the 1980s are exceptional 😊
A fascinating commentary and great video footage of a space craft I have known little about.. A 30 tonne payload - very impressive! Thanks again Paul.
This Buran sat dissembled in the deserts of Kazakhstan where it was for sale on the internet for $10,000,000 USD, (before appearing in Sydney) also on the same page was a second MIR Spacestation (complete with display catwalks) for $3,000,000.00 and two Tupolov TU-144 supersonic transport planes, one still wearing NASA signage as it had been leased by them, one of the Tupolov was minus its engines. There were also Migs for sale too. Interesting repaint on Buran. The lettering on the tail is way bigger than the original when it was in Sydney, I have a heat tile off the tail that contains the third C of CCCP. Both top and bottom tails of the C are on the same tile, where as now it covers two tiles.
After leaving Sydney this Buran went to America bought by a radio station, full payment failed and it was repossessed (same scenario when it was in Sydney in 2000) it the went to Bahrain where it sat abandoned deteriorating even more before going to Germany and indoors, thankfully
There is no life support in this Buran as it was never going to carry crew, being fully autonomous.
the lifesupport point is wrong OKGLI flew with crew
1. если бы у пилотов Челленджера были катапультируемые сидения, то они были бы живы.
2. на Буране стояли К36РБ, предназначенные для спасения экипажа на высотах до 25км и скоростях до 3М.
и еще одно замечание.
За последние 40 лет в США произошло две аварии с астронавтами - все погибли. в России - одна - все живы.
Кто еще будет говорить про ценность жизни в СССР?
1. If the Challenger pilots had ejection seats, they would be alive.
2. on the "Buran" there were K 36RB, designed to rescue the crew at altitudes up to 25km and speeds up to 3M.
and one more remark.
Over the past 40 years, there have been two accidents with astronauts in the United States - all were killed. in Russia - one - everyone is alive.
Who else will talk about the value of life in the USSR?
The Soyuz indeed is very safe.
Thanks for another great video Paul
Thank you for the video. I think it's worth mentioning too that the Buran is capable of landing automatically from re-entry, as was the case of its only test flight which had no one on board.
He did mention that in the video.
Of note - Buran was capable of autoland (indeed, since its only spaceflight was uncrewed, it had to be.) The US Space Shuttle Orbiter wasn't. The US did add "almost autoland" to the Space Shuttle orbiters late in their service life - with one notable exception - there was no way to automate the lowering of the landing gear. And to use the autoland, cabled would have to be run from one side of the cabin to the other. The thinking was that if the orbiter successfully reentered, but something meant they didn't think a landing would be safe, most of the crew would bail out (open the side hatch, jump out and parachute out,) while the commander and pilot would wait until closer to the landing zone (more dangerously lower in altitude,) before connecting the cables, manually deploying the landing gear, then bail out and let the orbiter attempt to autoland. (Or, a scenario they thought more likely - that something would happen during reentry that wouldn't have allowed the orbiter to reach a valid airfield, so all the crew would bail out at higher altitude, and the orbiter would "autoland" into the ocean or Gulf of Mexico.)
I didn't know there was a 4th Buran Unit. I only knew 3 that were abandoned at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. 2 in a state of abandonment almost finished and another which was destroyed in a collapse of the hangar next door. I was shocked to know that there is a 4th Buran!!
Why did the buran not see usage? The ussr collapsed at just the right time? The space race just wasn’t worth it going forward? If thats the case why didnt the Americans implement some of their upgrades?
@@marcofransowitz4773 there was no money. due to the economic crisis. what they could do was join with NASA and ask the USA to help develop it. although in the end the STS endeavor was used for missions with the Russians docking at the MIR station
Moscow, VDNKh site. "Buran" shuttle . The exhibition is permanent.
The leading orbiter of the two at Bakonur is a full scale replica as some of its internals are wood, the second was 95-97% ready to fly, there was actually 5 to my knowledge, the first model became a restaurant in Gorky Park
@giggling_boatswain it's not there it's in a German air museum
Can also recommend the Sinsheim museum nearby, they have some awesome ww2 aircraft, and the tu-144 and Concorde...
I can recommend the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, England.
They have a Concorde, SR-71.
Great to see an update on this program.
Thanks Paul, enjoyed it!
Im more intrigued by the Group B Audi Rallye cars In the background;)!
Good show. Interesting piece of gear.
I’m not sure if any one has already mentioned it. A TH-camr called Bald and Bankrupt broke into a hangar about a year ago and took video of the one in Kazakhstan.
The first american shuttles actually had ejector seats. Cool video! Didn't know there was one on display
Yes I should have made that clearer that they had them initially but they were removed.
The Buran system had the potential to be much better than the US Space Shuttle, but the rapid collapse of the Soviet Union meant that there simply wasn't funding or political will to keep it going.
technically they were both failures since the shuttle program was supposed to be a cheaper way to achieve space flight.
Coulda woulda shoulda. 1 flight.
A hang glider with a spit wad shooter would be better than the American space shuttle. Literally any space vehicle before or since the US space shuttle is/was better than the US space shuttle.
@@s0nnyburnett Buran made two laps and successfully returned to the ground without a pilot, automatically.
@@Dad_Brad just a bit of an exaggeration. No one else has been able to do what the US Shuttle program did.
Buran is abandoned in an hangar in Bajkonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan
That was really cool! Thanks for sharing!
Sooo many decades of improvements could be made to it's design.
I did not realize that an example of this shuttle existed in a museum. I have only ever seen the other two that were wasting away in storage at the planned launch site.
1:32 The first 2 US shuttles (Enterprise, Columbia) had ejection seats fitted.
Columbia had them removed after its first space flight.
Yes I should have made that clearer that they had them initially but they were removed.
They were not removed after STS-1. They were operational through STS-4, the end of the Orbital Flight Test program and kept in place, but disabled during STS-5 (first operational Shuttle flight and first manned spacecraft to carry four astronauts) and STS-9 (first Spacelab mission). After STS-9, Columbia underwent an extensive 18 month refit that saw the ejection seats removed and replaced with standard seats.
I know this comment comes late but at the 9:53 point in the video where it shows the rear engines the jet engine mounts are covering ,it looks like, one reaction motor outlet and part of another.
I love your videos ❤
Thanl you for the video. Beautiful museum! Moreover, It's the first time I see a Buran near a Fiat 131 Rally and a Lancia 037, awsome!
Glad you enjoyed it!
The NASA Space Shuttle *did* had ejector seats during the first trials. But was later removed as it could only eject the pilots and not the rest of the crew.
Interestingly this orbiter has hydrogen and oxygen thrusters and engines (with some solid fuel backups).
Which is different from the US version which used aerozine 50 and dinitrogen tetroxide. (There was also hydrogen and oxygen for the fuel cells which provided electrical power.)
According to wikipedia (no actual source, sadly) the Buran OMS used syntin and LOX for it's propulsion with an ISP of 362s (Hydrolox would likely provide better ISP). I think this is a bit more plausible, as hydrogen boil-off might be too severe during long-duration missions.
@@debott4538 the on orbit propulsion system on the US orbiter were derivatives of those on the Apollo CSM.
The Soviets could have, similarly, used parts from Soyuz. Instead they did something innovative. More innovative than autoland, given that the first autoland of an airliner (G-ARPR) had taken place in 1965.
I really enjoy your videos and I just wanted to say thank you 🙏
Glad you like them!
The soviets did realize that the auxiliary turbofan engines would likely not survive any reentry and did omit them permanently from future planned Buran vehicles
In the other Technical museum you can see Concordski, complete with glass valves in the avionics!
Yep, I’ve done a video on that too :)
Our orbiter did have ejection seats for the first few flights. However, when they stated to Cary more crew on the second deck where they couldn't eject. They removed them from the flight deck.
thanks for bringing us near museum piece of Buran , though i have seen its other pieces interior engines ,fuel tanks cockpit docking port etc. in videos brought by girls and boys by sneaking in secretly in abundant maintenance hangers in kazhakistan , Baikanur cosmodrome area along with huge energia rocket , but its still interesting .
Thank god they preserved one. both the Buran and the the US space shuttle. Programs could have been much more had both nations could have worked together. Interesting fact the Buran had an auto landing feature
The space shuttle actually also had an auto land, it was just never used as it was considered too dangerous to test.
Well, yes and no. The system itself was actually tested and gave satisfactory results. When it came time for the crewed autoland test, there was some slight concerns and Mission Control cancelled it. Wasn’t necessarily “dangerous”. Landing and re entry were planned on days where weather was feasible for manual reentry and landing. If I am correct, the Buran was intended to be flown entirely by the computers and those at Mission Control. So, two different spacecrafts entirely.
The moon landers had auto landing capabilities.
The first US space shuttle missions DID have ejection seats. Second, the design of the Buran is based heavily on the Shuttle as we know, but that's because as NASA is a public funded organisation, the shuttle plans and technical drawings were freely available, you just had to ask, and the Russian embassy did just that! That's how they got the design info on the shuttle.
Great video sir
So happy to see its been pulled from that abandoned hangar! It was going to rot in place. The the roof collapsed and they moved it here.
This isnt one of those
Nice footage!
Great video well done very informative thank you
Been there. Great place. There is also lunar module from Apollo . I didn’t get the point about the rocket engines. Can you elaborate?
Aerodynamic probably... The Apollo Module actually is the one from the transformers movie😊
Outstanding I saw this in Sydney ❤
I knew this existed in Germany but thought that it was a NASA shuttle! Interesting video Paul!
The turbines are a really neat addition! Very cool
*AMAZING WHAT MAN CAN BUILD. FROM SUPER HIGH SKYSCRAPERS, FOOTBALL STADIUMS, AND SPACE SHUTTLES AND SATELLITES, ETC.* MAKES YOU WONDER IF SOME SCIENCE WAS BROUGHT FROM ANOTHER SOURCE OF INTELLIGENCE
If the life in USSR was not that important, why the first flight was unmanned and why they had to employ automatic landing system? Wouldn't be easier to just put people inside?
I was unaware of there being a buran in public. I’ve watched the exploration videos where they find them in Kazakhstan I think. Thank you
Yes I believe this is the only one that is easy to access.
You should do a video on Endeavor at the California Science Center! If I’m correct they’re currently building a new display for it where you’ll be able to see into the payload bay
While you showed the nose, my eyes were on the legendary Group B rally cars-such stunning monsters in their day.
That looks like a wooden mockup. Why would the airbreathing engine be covering the RCS thruster?
That Lancia 037 though!
3:30 Those two rockets on the rear are not main engines but rather are the OMS (orbital maneuvering system). They would have been needed to exit orbit and return to Earth. If following the American shuttle’s design, they would have used hypergolic fuels.
I think they used syntin and LOX. Not hypergolic.
Good to see the buran the last time I saw it it was abandoned and look like everything was is just falling apart❤
@ 4:00. You fell for one of the big propaganda urban legends. The jet engines were only ever used on the OK-GLI Buran ((Buran Analog BST-02) ) since there was no large aircraft at the time that could lift it for drop tests as was the case with the 747 for the U.S. orbiter Enterprise, and so they were mounted to the test orbiter so it could fly high enough and then the engines were cut so it could test orbiter glide characteristics.
The Soviet engineers thought they might put jet engines on the spaceflight-capable orbiters, but ran into problems regarding launch as well as reentry heating and aerodynamic stress issues that made mounting them on the exterior of the vehicle extremely problematic, and so they were dropped. U.S. engineers in the U.S. did the same with Shuttle years prior and for similar reasons, including eliminating cost, weight, and complexity.
big propaganda? What are you doing now my friend?
@@d.b.q.p.1540 He talks about the stereotype of the Soviet space program in the West.
In particular, about the fact that the Commies are backward and can only copy other people's technologies and do it terribly, and in general about the fact that the entire space industry of the USSR was not unpopular and did not seek to protect astronauts in case of emergency situations
@@Histor-recon-h5x чушь, когда в здании музея Капитолия висит табличка: догнать и перегнать Советский союз! Америка слишком много получила ученых и технологий после мародерства и вербовки в поствоенной Европе и после распада СССР, воровская и гнилая недострана
I went to see this buran in Sydney. It was on display near Darling Harbour. It was not long after 911 2001 terror attack. I remember feeling on edge and suspicious of everyone.
Nice. You were in Germany. The two museums are very informative. Hope you had a great time there.
Is their any video of the Buran being launched, staging or anything that proves it was ever in orbit?
When STS-1 launched (and all future launches) there were dozens (100s) of high speed cameras filming it.
There are a few snippets of the Buran launch: th-cam.com/video/biFPD4Rf4hw/w-d-xo.html
Nasa says it was in orbit and that is good enough for me: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1988-100A
Chris Luckhardt did a you tube video about an abandoned hangar with Burans in them.
Thanks mate I been hanging out for this video... The Buran is like a Space Shuttle 2.0👍🇳🇿
Glad you enjoyed it
The ejection capsules was more likely for launch as US rockets did after Apollo 1
Ejection seats would be safe to use at an appropriate altitude.
great video, i learned some notable things here about the jets. whose shuttle was better? i think the form factor was fatally flawed and neither one was suitable for a long term program. i think the soviets may have come to understand that, and therefore abandoned a costly and impractical boondoggle rather than limp it along for decades as the US did. hard to say since the USSR crumbled around that time anyways
You mentioned human life wasn’t a priority in the Soviet Union, I had never heard that before. Could you explain what you meant by that?
The usual stereotype formed by Western propaganda. The world's first parachute was invented by a Russian engineer Kotelnikov. Only Russian K-50 and K-52 helicopters have ejection seats. In the entire history of manned space flights, four Soviet cosmonauts and seventeen American cosmonauts have died. The irretrievable losses of the armed forces of the USSR and the Axis countries on the Eastern Front amount to 11,444,100 and 8,649,200 people, that is, the ratio of irretrievable losses is approximately 1.3:1 or less. But it should be borne in mind that with an almost equal number of prisoners of war during the war years (4,559,000 Soviet soldiers and 4,376,300 German soldiers), 86.5%, or 3,787,000 soldiers, returned home from Soviet captivity, and 44.2%, or 2,016,000 soldiers, from German.
Its very simple, just look at the invasion of Ukraine where russia sends meat waves to wear out the Ukrainians.
Or look at the russian people who often go without because those who work in the supply chain line their pockets disregarding the shortages that they create.
Do you own research and you will find a lot.
I just remembered a couple.
When the kursk had an accident the russians refused help until it was too late, all the saliors that survived the accident perished.
When the Chernobyl accident happened russia did not inform anyone downwind of the radiation and delayed evacuating people and did not even inform the town so people that could leave on their own would be able to go.
Russia fires missiles at civilian targets in ukraine including schools and an orphanage. This provides no military advantage but just kills innocent civilians. 'Nuff said.
Хорошо бы что они забрали Буран. Хоть один экземпляр удастся сохранить
Thanks for the video. Does anyone know what was the metal(?) on the leading of the wings?
Thanks again, Paul. So good.
Love the Buran. A real shame it didn’t succeed. Bigger and better in every way. Even Energia was better.
Do you plan to visit the Cosmodrome?
The ejection seats were meant to be used in the case of an after-launch abort. If the U.S. Space Shuttle had been built as-intended, with the ejectable crew cabin, the crew of the Challenger would have survived (please read up on the ejection system of the F111). The Columbia crew were unfortunately already dead during launch, though nobody knew it at the time.
How would the challenger crew have ejected from the mid deck?
“The Soviets didn’t have that many friends” lol. I live right by a backup runway for the shuttle and it’s over two miles long.
Omg they saved one 😲😍
Are the leading edges of the wings titanium?
So, you are partially correct in that the American Shuttle's ejection seats were removed, but it wasn't because they wouldn't have been effective. It's because it was deemed inhumane...only 2 people could eject while the rest of the crew would die. For this reason, it was determined that they would be removed. It's VERY debatable whether ejection seats would have enabled survivors for Challenger as there is evidence that at least some of the crew survived the initial vehicle breakup. For Columbia...yeah, no...ejection seats wouldn't have helped.
For the Buran flight test article you are seeing here (which I have also visited), yes, the initial plan was to have at least the engines seen up by the vertical stabilizer, BUT, it was determined that it would cause a lot of problems and most likely wouldn't work. Your explanation that the development was delayed is the first I have heard. As for espionage, yeah, there was probably some, but the Shuttle program was very public because it was not a military project (though it had quite a bit of funding from the CIA and the military, which is what drove a lot of its design, including the solid rocket boosters and the massive payload bay). Because the Shuttle was very public, the information was relatively easy to get, so the Soviets did a LOT of copying.
Having seen the scale model used for atmospheric reentry study...the Buran scares me, and I have a feeling that they would have experienced a Columbia type disaster well before the Americans did.
101 is still in the hanger as well as the lower power booster
I wonder where they got the idea for the body and wing design?
I’m sure I’ve previously seen something like this before
I hope the other Burans get restored and put on display one day. They won't last forever in those abandoned hangers.
The second Buran is in exhibition in Moscow VDNH
It said that the other orbiters never got the same love as these once get for a museum,
How the heck did Germany get it? *wasn't another crushed under a collapse roof incident (which killed several workers on the roof when it caved in)? I'm not seeing any confirmation that the final version would have powered jet engines (it seems that would sacrifice precious cargo space and throw on a lot of excess weight) - also I don't think that tube was on the orbital version, it was similar to the Enterprise which was used during drop tests. It's absent in this photo of the launch in 1988 : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_(spacecraft)#/media/File:Buran.jpg
A little checking confirmed the OK-GLI was an atmospheric test vehicle - it never went to space : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OK-GLI
The Orbiter was forced to stay in Bahrain Harbour after some chinese guys claimed they would own it. The Museum however had contacts in Bahrain and bought the shuttle. After five years they finally owned it and transported it arround the world!
That was great Paul. I had no idea they built so many test articles. But knowing the Soviets, that makes sense. Did you get a look at the Draken?
I dont recall seeing the Draken to be honest
@@PaulStewartAviation at 9:40. Gotta love SAAB!
Throwing a 60 ton space plane into orbit is always impressive, in a sense. But the most unimpressive thing about Buran is that it's a supposedly reusable vehicle that flew exactly - once. We all know of the Soviets' economic problems, but you really have to question whether that vehicle was found to be capable of reflight once it got back the first time.
The Russians are
Known for shoddy engineering from time to time. Evidence in ukraine easily destroying all the Russian tanks. Could be that it wasn’t capable like the American shuttle.
Please explain why there are jet engines mounted?
I did
@@PaulStewartAviation Yes. You surprised me by even explaining how they were protected in space flight. I don't fully believe this configuration actually went to space. Did you see the video of those guys burglarizing Bikonur and the Buran prototypes? Disgraceful. I love your reporting btw! Also btw there is no visual evidence ie scoring that this prototype ever reentered the atmosphere during reentry.
@@GalvestonGuy this prototype never left the Atmosphere! OKGLI is basically a Buran Atmosphere testbed!
@@PaulStewartAviation I saw a little BypaH model in a park in Moscow some years ago...maybe 15'long. I always wondered if it was part of the actual program until I saw this.
@@PaulStewartAviation I seem to remember something said about it extending the range after reentry...not for atmospheric testing. I just think it is a problematic design.