Buran 1.01

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Buran 1.01 ( Russian Буран for Buran - German: snowstorm ) was the only space shuttle ( GRAU index 11F35 K1) used for orbital flight from the Soviet space shuttle project of the same name from the Buran program . The space shuttle was similar to the US space shuttle , but it had z. B. no own engines like the Space Shuttle ( SSME ). In order to finally reach an orbit, the OMS engines were used at the end of the take-off, similar to the US shuttle . The shuttle was also to be equipped with jet engines that could have brought the space shuttle back to a base in the Soviet Union in the atmosphere during the approach. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the program was discontinued, also for financial reasons; the only unmanned mission remained. When the ceiling of an assembly hall collapsed on May 12, 2002, the space shuttle was completely destroyed.

history

Buran at the Antonov An-225 , Paris Air Show in June 1989

Buran 1.01 was built in 1986 as the first space shuttle of the Buran program suitable for space travel. The ferry Baikal ( Russian Байкал after Lake Baikal ) was originally named and renamed Buran a few weeks before the planned first flight.

After the necessary launch vehicle Energija was successfully tested on May 15, 1987, the first and only launch of the Buran Energija system with the orbiter Buran 1.01 took place on November 15, 1988. The unmanned flight was successfully completed with an automatic landing after two orbits.

In June 1989 Buran was exhibited mounted on an Antonov An-225 transport plane at the Paris Air Show.

After the end of the program in 1993, Buran was stored in the assembly hall "MIK-112" at the spaceport in Baikonur, mounted on an Energija mock-up . Due to insufficient maintenance, the ceiling construction had already suffered severely from the weather. During an attempt at repair on May 12, 2002, the ceiling of the hangar collapsed , completely destroying Buran and the Energija mock-up. Eight members of the repair team were also killed. The collapsed assembly hall remained unrepaired for years due to a lack of money. The first repair attempts were not started until 2006 ( 45 ° 55 ′ 41 ″  N , 63 ° 17 ′ 53 ″  E ).

1K1, the only orbital flight

Mission dates
Mission: 1K1
Launcher: Energija
Crew: unmanned
Begin: November 15, 1988 , 3:00 UTC
Starting place: Baikonur 110L
Landing: November 15, 1988
Landing place: Baikonur
Flight duration: 2h 20min
Earth orbits: 2
Payload: Module 37 KB
- -

Preparations

The space shuttle for the 1K1 test mission was built in the Tushino factory in Moscow, transported to the Moscow River , loaded onto a ship there and taken to a military airfield. Parts of the heat shield as well as the vertical stabilizer and the orbital maneuvering system were added there. Mounted on a Mjasishchev WM-T carrier aircraft , the transport continued to the cosmodrome in Baikonur, in whose hall further structural tests, completions and preparations for take-off took place.

In the summer of 1988 Buran was moved to the final assembly hall and connected to the second Energija building. On October 10, 1988, the aircraft was brought to the launch site and erected. Then the ferry was extensively tested on the ramp. The planned start date was October 29, 1988. The start countdown was normal until the computer canceled the start 51 seconds before taking off due to a technical error. A new start attempt was made on November 15, 1988.

Mission history

The unmanned spacecraft was launched on November 15, 1988, and Buran took off from Baikonur at 03:00 UTC. After two minutes and 45 seconds, the Energija boosters were dropped. Eight minutes after take-off, the burned-out central stage was thrown off. Now the orbital maneuvering system has been detonated several times to bring the ferry into a stable orbit.

This succeeded, and two hours and 20 minutes after takeoff, the brake ignition was carried out and re-entry into the earth's atmosphere began. According to navigation signals, Buran flew 400 km from Baikonur from the ground and landed, automatically controlled, at 340 km / h at the Jubileiny airfield inside the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Three parachutes were used on the landing. The planned touchdown point was only missed by about three meters to the side and ten meters in the direction of flight.

After the renovation work, the space shuttle was brought back to a hall, where it was refurbished for another flight. During the follow-up inspection it was found that seven heat protection tiles had fallen off during the flight, but this did not endanger the flight.

Scheduled missions

Another start was originally planned for 1993, which should have a flight duration of 15 to 20 days. After the program was stopped, it didn’t happen.

literature

Web links

Commons : Buran space shuttle  - album with pictures

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ aerospaceweb.org: Soviet Buran Space Shuttle (English)
  2. ↑ aerospaceweb.org: image of the destroyed Buran
  3. ↑ http://www.buran-energia.com/bourane-buran/bourane-modele-101.php
  4. ↑ http://www.buran-energia.com/bourane-buran/bourane-consti-37kb.php
  5. ↑ Buran landing facility at Site 251 in Baikonur. In: russianspaceweb.com. February 25, 2015, accessed November 9, 2018 .
  6. ↑ http://www.buran-energia.com/bourane-buran/bourane-versvol-etatbouclier.php
  7. ↑ Экипажи "Бурана" Несбывшиеся планы. buran.ru, accessed August 5, 2006 (Russian).
Supply spaceships
In use:

Progress  | H-2 Transfer Vehicle  | Dragon 1  | Cygnus  | Tianzhou

In development:

Cargo Dragon 2  | Dream Chaser  | HTV-X  | Chinese multipurpose spaceship

Retired:

TKS  | Space Shuttle  | Automated Transfer Vehicle

Unrealized:

Buran  | LKS  | Hermes  | Kistler K-1 Orbital Vehicle  | Parom

In each case arranged according to the (planned) date of the first flight above 100 km