The 25th Anniversary of the Soviet Union’s Answer to Shuttle

Twenty-five years ago on Friday, the Soviet Union flew the Buran reusable spacecraft, modeled on NASA’s Space Shuttle, into orbit for the first and last time.

The Buran, named for the Russian word for snowstorm, became the first Soviet reusable spacecraft and took 10 years to develop.

What Soviet specialists developed was not just a simple spacecraft, but an entire reusable system. This included the Energia super-heavy multi-role launch vehicle and the Buran orbiter, as well as elements of the ground launch-and-control infrastructure.

The Buran was designed to fly 100 manned and unmanned and automatic missions.
Photo: The Energia rocket-space system comprising a launch vehicle and the Buran reusable spacecraft.

It was difficult to transport the bulky Buran shuttle on the ground, so the entire craft was hoisted onto an Antonov An-225 Cossack strategic airlift cargo aircraft.
Photo: An Antonov An-225 Cossack strategic airlift cargo aircraft carrying the Buran reusable space shuttle.

The Buran could carry as many as ten crew members, including four pilots and six cosmonaut-researchers.
Photo: An Antonov An-225 Cossack strategic airlift cargo aircraft with the Buran reusable space shuttle.

The Buran flew only one, 205-minute space mission, circling Earth twice and landing at the Yubileiny airfield at the Baikonur cosmodrome.

The Energia-Buran program was mothballed in 1990 and terminated completely in 1993.

In all, three orbiters were built under the Energia-Buran program and construction of two more was launched. Nine full-size mock-ups were also built. Several mock-ups and orbiters survive to this day.
Photo: A Buran mock-up on display at the MAKS-1999 International Aerospace Salon in Zhukovsky, near Moscow.

The Buran orbiter that flew in space was placed inside a vehicle assembly and testing building at the Baikonur cosmodrome. In 2002, the spacecraft was destroyed completely when the building’s roof caved in.