buran briefing

[luhrboy]

they should rebuild buran, we need a STS kind of craft since the shuttle has retired!

[lehenaol]

What music video,please. CCCP forever

[AcuityETS]

MrSrgj, actually NASA made huge amounts of development information and testing results available to the public domain. NASA acknowledge that this sped up the Russian development, and the Russians correctly decided to re-use proven, and researched technology and then made it better. Capable of lifting more payload weight and being fully autonomous it was more advanced than the Shuttle - and had more safety systems in place. Suggest you read up more on Buran and appreciate the genius of the Russi

[MrSrgj]

Russian spies have stolen blueprints of the American space shuttle, and made a copy.

In my opinion this is nonsense.

You can not copy if you do not know how it works.

They are similar in appearance, but inside they are very different.

[Zoomer30]

Big difference between the US and USSR version is how far back the nose wheel is on the Buran. The US version has the nose wheel, well, under the nose, the Buran has it practically at the front of the cargobay.

[Lttradiumlevans77]

In the end, there is some ESA Hermès European space shuttle concept pictures, not Buran.

[Fontomovsky]

Buran's destiny is sad, but i think it's cheeper to use old russians rockets like Soyuz and Progres to supply ISS. Shuttles are maybe better for maintance missions like repairs of Hubble Space Telescope. I think everything that shuttles do, can be also done with rockets. Soviets were able to build mir with upgraded rockets designed in 60s and 70s. Space shuttles weren't bad idea, but non returnable aircraft (rockets) are cheaper to use and easier to upkeep.

[raulox71]

I like the Buran.

[SPYK3O]

It's good to know that the US developed a functioning shuttle and using the Russian station concepts we built the ISS together.

Oh god are those CRTs 4:40

[harris3693]

@SPYK3O Actually, the ISS was in a way a barter deal from the yankees so that way russia doesn't get embarassed right after the collaspe of their country and the first SS was the soyuz so the americans really had no clue what they were doing until the russians pitched in to help.

[SPYK3O]

@harris3693

To say the US didn't know what they were doing is a bit extreme considering the entire project was orchestrated by the US and Soyuz isn't a space station.

[harris3693]

@SPYK3O What about Mir? Wasn't that the first space station or are you just going to go pro america on me and say some US clunker was the first space station in space?

[SPYK3O]

@harris3693

Try Salyut then Skylab. I like how you automatically think I am going to go pro america you ignorant retard.

[lehenaol]

Music name please????

[lehenaol]

What music name please????

[48Donbray]

Buran had it's issue's, but so did the shuttles, and if money wasn't an issue in the development and use of the Buran, then it would have gone through it's growing pains and matured into what the shuttles have matured into, VERY VERY expensive space crafts that were not as re-usable as everyone thought they would be, costing much more than anticipated originally

[48Donbray]

Listen, Apollo happened, and anyone that puts any thought into comparing the so called conspiracy theories with the other factors that clearly show it happend, should see that it HAPPENED. Probes have taken pictures of the LM's decent stage already. Plus, conspiracy theories are easily shot down, but people are blind to truth when they want to believe in something. Also, Buran was a great machine, very promising.

[215alessio]

at the time the COLD ware was still at its HOTTESTS Hmm talking about a paradox :p

anyway my compliments for the Antonov 225

who was first space shuttle or Buran?

[MMPWR]

Too band they ran out of funding maybe in the future america and russia can cooperate and Rebuild the buran dream witch is clearly a superior to our shuttles

[jvarela965]

@MMPWR Clinton offered Yeltsin to fund Buran but there were too many problems to overcome and we got the international space station instead.

[Revvavver]

Someone tells that  landing on the moon is hollywood show. Hey guy you know much easier build the rocket and take a flight to the moon than have prepared such a show for to be showed from Hollywood

[MemberMan080]

Is this like an Parody of The US Space Shuttle?

[kamilsp7fll]

No.

[datzburier]

The moon landing was more like Hollywood show. There was not a single star in the moon sky (something hollywood forgot), yet it was night time on moon, facing away from Sun, at the spot of landing. NASA is now eager to pour money and technology into Indian space program to test if its (NASA's) current technology is capable of landing on the moon, launching back from the moon, and comming back to earth safely. In case if that fails, Indian space agency Not NASA will be the failure.

[3060studios]

You are insane.

[crusader810]

The stars couldnt show up on the cameras the astronauts were holding, if you watch the video and see photos taken from the LLM itself, there are stars. Also, there were multiple missions to the moon after Apollo 11 and they left mirrors on the surface which can be located by flashing lasers at them. Do some real research and you'll see the "no stars" excuse is just a load of crap people spew out to get others to join them with their stupid conspiracies.

[datzburier]

Many Americans now believe that "moon landing of 1969" was Faked by NASA d/t heavy pressure from the government. It was done to keep the Soviets taking the prize of moon landing and Soviets were very close to it. Now maybe it is possible to put the man on the moon, but NASA will not dare to try it now, because it does not want to take any chances of possible failure, that will put the original landing into question by the whole world.

[stfanboy]

Did Buran fly under its own power? It looks like it.

[fener4e]

really??But stepped on the moon however

[DIMAOP1]

Круто!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hammeredwappered]

What the hell is that supposed to mean? You're a fuckin' asshole! People lost their lives FuckTard! You have got to be Canadian. Only Canuck fuck sticks talk like you.

[bestamerica]

hi larry,

america still have more extra space shuttles than russia,,,

ussr russia is NONE extra burans,,,

but ussr russia submarine Kursk was explosion

[Manny32V]

BURAN = Fail

[bestamerica]

Manny32V,

BURAN = Fail

yes right on

[Gforce000]

Buran is a success. It"s Soviet Fail.

[GanzRUS]

@Gforce000

Sad, but it`s true... :((

[rajithaify]

@Manny32V

no it wasn't. soviet union collapsed so it ran out of funding.

you know what the russians are bringing it back to use as a transport vehicle to ISS as the americans are abandoning the space shuttle

[SPYK3O]

@rajithaify

Hardly the age of the concept of reusable spacecraft is probably over for the reasonably near future.

[rajithaify]

@SPYK3O why'd you say so?

[SPYK3O]

@rajithaify

Because the space shuttle costs way more and isn't as safe as a non-reusable spacecraft. That's why the next generation of spacecraft are non-reusable: cheaper, safer, wider range of cargo and missions. What isn't to like?

[rajithaify]

@SPYK3O so you're saying the non-reusable ones are cheaper? . then why did they (both the US and the soviets) invent them in the first place? weren't they supposed to cut the costs of space flight? i'm just asking cuz i don't know

[SPYK3O]

@rajithaify

The shuttle was supposed to be the "space truck" build it once and simply refuel it to fly into space. The cost to build each shuttle ran somewhere between 1.5-2 billion US dollars. Then the maintenance bills started to roll in, and upgraded safety regulations and upgrades and it costs anywhere between 0.5-1 billion US dollars each time you fly it.

It's easier, cheaper, and safer to have a factory somewhere stamp out cheap spacecraft rather than keep an old one flight worthy.

[oreoweb6]

@SPYK3O the next generation spacecraft will have reusable capsules unlike apollo which was 1 time use.

[TheSpiritof1969]

@oreoweb6

I wonder just how reusable those capsules will be. The heat shields will have to be replaced each flight but I suspect they will have to be disassembled after each flight as well. I heard they will comedown on land to save expensive mid ocean recovery .... that leaves them prone to being damaged by hard landings.

Anything under a parachute cannot be guaranteed a perfect soft landing.

[oreoweb6]

@TheSpiritof1969 actually the orion capsules the USA plans to use have resuable heat shields. so far none of the usa capules plan to land on land like soyuz

[politanalitik]

BURAN is great !

[bestamerica]

politanalitik,

BURAN is great !

NO NO NO,,,

buran is a not great,,,

because buran did copy steal from america first space shuttle

[fener4e]

In fact the original american shuttle project was much different than that which eventually flew

[supergnu]

what's the payload at 2:48? this is the first time that i see a picture of a completely black Burna ship!?

[wall2wall99]

the USSR shuttle is no copy. thy may have borrow the USA shuttle overall configuration & delta-wing concept? it was 100% developeded & designeded buy them. our 2 shuttle systems have commonaltys are few.

[bestamerica]

i love america space shuttle is the best plane in the world,,,

i dont like ussr russia buran,,,

ussr russia is a very cheap space buran shuttle,,,

ussr russia is always copy steal from america space shuttle

[wall2wall99]

the buran shuttle heat shield tiles performance was inadequate during its 1st & only reentry. having countless severely deformed & or damaged heat shield tiles in many of its critical areas. the buran also suffered unrepairable internal structural damage on reentry from major over-heating. making it no longer space-worthy. a new & improved heat shield system would be required. taking yrs + bills $ 2 develop. that's only if things went well

[jpcorba]

ok buran, cannot be save because no money, but the energia rocket, i don t unstand why she was not saved

that was a super rocket, can be used for many other mission.

[ArosaMike]

To all of those who are trying to say that the thing had jet engines even when it went into space....tell me.....how exactly did the fan blades resist the temperatures of re-entry?!

[ArosaMike]

Oh dear. Please thing before you type. Answer me: What temperature does the surface of the CERAMIC tiles on the under surface of any re-entering space capsule reach? Answer: Around 2000-3000K. Question 2: What is the melting point of titanium alloy fan blades in a jet engine....less than the temperature of combustion which is around 1000K. So basically, the fan blades would completely melt upon re-entry. I've done quite a bit of reading up on this Buran. The jet engines were on the prototypes...

[LordFuhquaad]

Ignore MultipleEFP, he is nothing but a stupid ignorant troll who knows nothing about Buran, spaceflight, or aerodynamics.

In fact, I don't think he's a Russian at all... I think he's a troll who is deliberately trying to make Russians look stupid.

[chillaxer1993]

@LordFuhquaad i think your high alcoholism rates already take care of that

[Skate4Satan]

"Buran had it`s own jet engines instaled so it could get into space WITHOUT any lifting platform (rocket, plane...)"

LOL... idiot...

[MultipleEFP]

skater boy ?!?!?

US scientifical resources are based on skater boys.

:-)

[nakazatoGTR]

buran is obvious copy.

no other space program except ISS build for russia.

multipleEEp is dreaming badly.

[MultipleEFP]

your Texas beef mama and your hillbilly dady are copies !

But you are the copy of the copies !

[nakazatoGTR]

you really think i am from texas, you cossack, eh?

ever had the presence of mind to check my profile?

[LordFuhquaad]

I love the idiots who claim Buran could "take off like a plane". They're watching videos of a test article that was equipped with jet engines, to test the flight dynamics. Buran was not designed to "take off" any more than the space shuttle was.

[MultipleEFP]

And I realy addore the FACT how you fucking americans are jelouse !

[nakazatoGTR]

and all you do is ridicule, adding no intelligent argument.

[sandamn85]

as far as i know, the buran never reached outer space. or DID it? :))

[MultipleEFP]

It did !

only once !

[horsesboy]

And only unmanned

[A86]

"And only unmanned"

That's nothing to sneeze at. The US has been unable to send the space shuttle into space and back on full autopilot by remote control. The Soviets did with their shuttle in 1988 what we still have yet to do.

Besides, unmanned missions are technically more efficient. Why spend money on costly life support and food for astronauts when you can send the vehicle up much lighter for an unmanned mission and still get all the work done?

[LordFuhquaad]

It flew one time only. It had no life support system installed, and since the APU's weren't ready for that flight, they loaded up the payload bay with batteries to provide power for the flight. That's one of the reasons it only stayed up for two orbits.

Nothing about it was reusable either (except the glider itself), so it would have been more costly to operate than even the US space shuttle. People who claim it was "superior" to the space shuttle are clueless.

[A86]

LordFuhquadd - No life support system was installed because it was a test flight. It's the same reason no life support system was installed in the Apollo capsules after Apollo 1 before Apollo 7: they were unmanned tests to see if the damn thing even works. You're not supposed to put a fully functioning vehicle up on the maiden flight when you're not even sure it won't blow up.

And Energia's boosters were completely reusable like the US shuttle's SRBs. The cost was about the same as for ours.

[wall2wall99]

The Soviet Space Shuttle system had great potential and promise. Even though there Space Shuttle development program was never complete Its design, safety and capabilities were superior to the NASA Space Shuttle system in many ways. I find there Shuttle program total demise, incredibly unfortunate.

[darkhelmet40]

Also american are all flattered that you copied our space shuttle 20 years after we developed ours.

[darkhelmet40]

Buran has been cancelled for years dude.

[SovietWarrior]

The superior Russian Cliper concept will blow the disastrous ultraexpensive Shuttle out of the water.

Say sayonara to Shuttle in 3 years!

[wall2wall99]

You want to compare the real successes of the 2 Shuttle programs? OK. Even though the U.S. Shuttles were designed & built 15yrs earlier. NASA engineering teems were the 1st to make the necessary break thews of design & technology, that's required for a Space Shuttle system to work. The U.S.system is built of much higher quality, developed and deployed. To date the only Space Shuttle system to ever achieve full operational status. So in comparisons, the actual score is. U.S.A.= 128 to U.S.S.R.= 0

[A86]

"The U.S.system is built of much higher quality"

Not really. The Russian Soyuz has higher quality life support and navigational systems than the US shuttle because the Soyuz has been constantly updated over the decades. The US shuttle is still running largely on late 70's to mid 80's technology. The Soyuz can also fly on full autopilot and dock without a pilot. The Soyuz only costs $25-$75 million rubles to launch while the shuttle costs $900 million/flight.

This nationalism is mindless.

[GanzRUS]

You stupid? Buran went into orbit only 1 times, because for the next flight and modernization does not provide funding. Your score irrelevant.

[sparky577]

I love reading people's arguments on youtube. People are SO silly when they get on here. Everybody is an expert! :D

[iks3m]

The Buran orbiter were designed to carry two jet engines for increased return capability. Althought they were not installed in the first orbiter for reason of weight limits on first Energia lancher the structural bay still exists and is only covered by heat shild still allowing for later retrofit

[freddyoreally]

Russian technology was amazing, I think both America and Russia suffered after the 'space race', the was no need to put such funding into it after the moon landings and a lot of ideas where scrapped. NASA gets less funding now than ever. Fuck this war on terror and get a mood base built, get the life line out there.

[ete0]

FUCK! Morons had broken the USSR

[plavins1]

poor

[ete0]

These technologies Russia has transferred the USA during cooperation. The program of orbital stations has replaced lunar program which was important only in political sense. Video from the Moon of the USSR has received in 1959.

Thus orbital stations and space planes the buran is a new era, an era which became possible owing to technologies of the USSR.

[ete0]

You have understood nothing. A buran it not Shattle the USA. Shattle can only "landed" on air station. But the Buran it spaceplan. The buran is the plane similar on shattle which gets into an atmosphere from space in any place and fly any direction. And in the USSR there was a program of creation of orbital stations. In 1971 into an orbit the first station is deduced. In the USA such technologies and have not guessed down to 1990.

[ete0]

From for the Russian criminals of 1990th Russia has lost orbital station of service and an orbital grouping of burans and together with it of the political lever of restraint of imperial politics of the USA. Only imagine a buran in the form of Invulnerability a super bomber. But from for shocks 1991-1993 Russia has received a delay on the status of the sovereign of space.

[colinericbarnard]

It's no small feat to steal the plans for the US Space Shuttle and duplicate its technology, more or less (as well as its flaws). But it was just a copy. Given that the shuttle's origins date back to the early '70's, and is proving to be a technological dead end, how much time has humanity wasted in low Earth orbit? Orion is nothing more than an Apollo retread and Constellation is nothing more than the original Apollo Applications Programme. No leadership!

[Regaliolus]

Buran actually is totally different than the Shuttle: it has no main engines itself, the OMS is different, the first stage boosters are totally different from the US SRB's (the Buran boosters were liquid propelled) and so on. The only thing which "looks" a little bit like the Shuttle is the exterior design. When you look at the interior: it's fundamental different again. Buran just used the same computer software as Soyuz. The whole flightdeck actually is totally different...

[ete0]

What else deadlock? shuttle was break for time, do not forget that the mankind only in XX century has left in space.

[Praporschik]

Some people are confused to think that this is a Russian accent. WHICH ISN'T TRUE. I cannot identify the accent, it sounds Arab to me. The pronounciation of the Russian names is AWFUL!!! Who let this guy read the text?! Otherwise, an interesting video.

[Rafski007]

That's wrong. In fact, to the Americans, the space race was over only once they landed on the moon. But to the Sovets, the race's goal was not to reach the moon, but to proove their technological superiority, which they did.

By the way, the universe doesn't stop after the moon. Don't forget there are still thousands of planets and galaxy to conquer. Definitely, the space race is not over: we've just seen its beginning...

[hawker445]

its the same disine of the united states space shuttle but they just added one some more jet engines

[y0y0plant]

this russion voice is gay, but i wish buran whent ahead

[Praporschik]

Again, THIS IS NOT A RUSSIAN ACCENT!!!!!! NO!

[kalashnikova06]

Man those Commies had some really big plans with Buron and Space Travel. Almost makes me with the Cold War wasn't over

[Budweiser8Jr]

The original orbiter "Buran" at the time of the 1st launch did not have any life support systems installed.

"Pitchka" was to be the second shuttle, but was mothballed at around 97% completion. I had heard in the early 21st they had considered reactivating and finishing Pitchka but it never happened.

Sad, because the Buran program was superior to the US shuttle

[plavins1]

why the buran never carried peoples in space?

[Eska4ever]

It didn't carry anyone, because Buran didn't need any people to control it. Basically Buran can trevel into space and then land back automatically.

[LordFuhquaad]

The U.S. shuttle has the capability to launch and land automatically, too. Only the landing gear have to be deployed manually, and there is a retrofit that can be installed to do that, if necessary.

Buran flew unmanned because its designers didn't have faith in it. Their own cosmonauts petitioned to delay the launch so that it could be tested more, and fly with a crew, but management overruled them.

[wackokicker]

can't you see loser? the Buran can fly like a plane, a thing that US shuttles never could do.

[LordFuhquaad]

You're an idiot, wackok. ONLY the Buran "test" analogs had engines, for determining the vehicle's flight characteristics. The Buran itself was NEVER designed to "fly like a plane". It was a glider, same as the U.S. shuttle that it copied.

Try reading a book sometime, you may learn something.

[wackokicker]

LordFucked: Are you an imbecil? what was your job in the STS?? bringing cokes to the engineers? Look in youtube for the video where the buran takes off from an airport and do a test flight.

[LordFuhquaad]

LOL!  OMG, you ARE a fucking idiot!

That was the Buran TEST ANALOG!

Christ, you're stupid!!!!

[wackokicker]

lol you are the stupid one, imbecil... I say that the Buran can take off from an airport, I have never said that it can reach orbit from it, asshole. As you are assuming on your own. Read my posts, wise jerk. On the other hand you dindn't answer my question, so I asume (as you did) that bringing cokes and sandwiches was your job.

[LordFuhquaad]

Here's your quote:

"can't you see loser? the Buran can fly like a plane, a thing that US shuttles never could do."

Read your own words and weep, idiot.

Buran NEVER "flew like a plane". Never could, never did.

Bye bye!

[wackokicker]

I'm not comparing it with an F-16, asshole; but it lifts off, turns, pitch and lands, idiot. If the shuttle misses its first landing intent after gliding, it is doomed... as your poor intelect. LOL

[HeyKidPullMyFinger]

"If the shuttle misses its first landing intent after gliding, it is doomed..."

Pray tell us, what could Buran have done, if it missed its "first" landing attempt?

[LordFuhquaad]

Hey idiot - the Shuttle turns, pitches, and lands too. Neither Buran nor the shuttle can "lift off" without being attached to its ET/main booster rocket, and strap-on boosters.

Buran, like the shuttle, has no jet engines and if it misses its "first landing attempt", it is equally screwed.

Buran never had the ability to take off from a runway or "fly" under power.

What part don't you get? Are you learning disabled? Retarded? Eat too many lead paint chips when you were a kid?

[wackokicker]

sorry, my mistake, english is not my first language so I'd confuse "take off" with "lift off", that's my point, even with auxiliary engines, the shuttle can't take off from a runway. The buran did. oh, I almost forgot: idiot!

[HeyKidPullMyFinger]

Uh-- dude.

There was an early Soviet test vehicle in the Buran program, that had jet engines on it. It was used for in-atmosphere aerodynamic testing.

It was not Buran, and it could never have been launched into space.

You have repeatedly stated that Buran could take off from a runway, or make a second landing attempt.

Sorry, but you are absolutely incorrect.

I suggest reading "Energiya-Buran: The Soviet Space Shuttle", if you want to learn about the Buran program.

[rhanthony]

Your facts are wrong.

STS can not re-enter unmanned.

Buran was DESIGNED to be able to fly unmanned, as well as manned.

Test articles for Buran could fly in the earth's atmosphere, but the one launched to orbit was unable to do this.

There were 5 built, all with slightly different designs for various aspects of the project.

[LordFuhquaad]

No, actually your facts are wrong. I work on the shuttle program. Do you?

STS not only "can" enter unmanned, it DOES enter unmanned. Pilots have the OPTION to take control of the vehicle, if they choose, and they always take control during the final descent onto the landing strip. Wouldn't you?

It's a pilot thing. You wouldn't understand...

Only the landing gear needs to be manually deployed, and there is a retrofit that allows even this to be automated, if so desired.

[jensbond1978]

...by homemade I mean something build in a car port.

[jensbond1978]

I know this is pretty dumb, but why are most russian stuff brownish or yellowish in color while e.g. the US shuttle is white? And why does it look so homemade? Russian stuff in general really need a design make-over. It would improve the way other people look at the country! ...I really think so.

[wopwop7]

I was talking about a real MAN. Someone who gets shit done. There is no best country. They all suck.

[smofar]

GO russia!!!WILL you give me a site thats show me pictures of the new russian shuttle!!

[decimuscarrerus]

the buran shuttle carries a larger payload and more people then the us shuttle... anyways.... the Russians came out with the new Clipper shuttle.... While the americans are retiring the shuttle and going back to rockets... like going back in time haha.

[v16050118130114]

Actually, the Buran never carried anybody into space. "Might have" doesn't matter - you "might" squeeze 14 people into a space shuttle, in an emergency situation.

Also, the reason the Buran "might have" carried a heavier payload is because it didn't have to carry its main engines, so that weight could be used for payload instead. The Energiya's engines were destroyed every launch, not reused like on the STS.

[jvarela965]

Where is the Buran's sister shuttle PITCHKA?. I recall it was nearly done in 1992.

[wopwop7]

They had to fly it on automatic because they couldn't find a real man well you know like an American to fly it. Thank you. You leave hangar now or we will shoot you.

[smofaa]

is russia thinking to enter the space race AGAIN??

[Julik1]

The buran was far more advanced to the US S. Shuttle

[nakazatoGTR]

sadly it was destroyed by a hangar collapse due to high winds back in 2002

[boussios]

says who? it was a complete knock off

[phoenixshade3]

The airframe is similar, but even that is in many ways superior to the US shuttle. For one, it has a higher lift-drag ratio. For another, by using Energia to produce ALL of the launch thrust, Buran could have carried 25% heavier payload than the shuttle. Also, most engineers would agree that the thermal protection is superior. It didn't use any of the brittle carbon panels that our shuttle uses on the leading edge of the wing (and which failed on Columbia).

[Tim4706]

People german and russian scientists designed the first rockets they used them in WW2 after the war some german scientists came to the USA and helped with the designs to build the US space craft that blasted off and got our astronaut teams to the moon the russians built there space stations and learned about living in space Today We are all working together to to learn about long duration space travel

[nikolaos333]

The perfect video for Buran! Thanks a lot!

[loloPL]

i thought BURAN has no engines...

[flitzer888]

yeah and the us high tech looks like our german ww2 rocket programm, so shut up.

[csj1969]

bunch of copycats, looks like the us shuttle !!

[andreiclawhammer]

nha its not EXACTLY like the US , but similar...Even so ,its stupid to say they're copycats!

[launcher236]

Nice video, thanks for posting it!

[lacalaca85]

Nice footage!

I fact, Buran was launched, to an automatic flight (with a lack of life support, I think), and returned fully automatically. It landed very accurately in such a strong crosswind. So strong, that Shuttles would not be allowed to land (manually of course). :D

[AlexanderTch]

Don't worry. Russia is recovering. Russia is regaining it's normal power. Whole world will be against you and is against you. You cannot deal even with Iraq.

[Marcvs2009]

Russia doesn't have the resource to restart space race now. It should consider selling this thing to China so the Chinese can use it against us.

[DarkChewie]

watch?v=iCilwgwXgBw

[gra25]

All I know is that it was a waste of money. Our parents paid too much money for nothing. Look, that stuff is not even flying to the space like US shuttles.

[youarthurhu]

Almost looks like a fake from Borat. Energia looks like it's not covered in the killer foam that the Americans used on their external tank. Probably does not have problems with leaking O-rings either. Wonder where they got the idea for a winged orbiter with thermal tiles? The small ship at the end looks like a ripoff of the X-20 Dyna-Soar concept.

[Depotmaster]

I feel sorry for Russia that they failed. They had some of the best researchers in the world once. The design was a copy but the technology was good, robust and Russian (They added jets on the back, good idea! Also for rockets). Maybe one day Buran will fly again...

[ATFSCrash]

I think the very basic concept might be a copy, however there seems to be a pronounced difference to suggest it is original. I guess it is possible that maybe they only copied the parts they had difficulty with, however there are enough differences to suggest it is an its own design.

This video helped me see some of the differences. I think is quite unique/clever how they strapped jet engines on.

[Kinemacolour]

At the 2:46 mark you can see the model used to fake the launch.

[atlantic965]

Buran was more cost effective and safer than MIR and those little Soyuz space ships. Yeltsin was tricked into killing it off because many people in the space establishment liked MIR because it was entirely a Soviet creation while BURAN was like the TU-144 SST more a product of Western engineering.

[HunterX78]

awesome vid, what was that black ship on board Energia test?

[bestamerica]

i love america was the first space shuttle on a 747 jumbo jet place is the best in the world..i am NOT interesting ussr russia buran shuttle on a plane..ussr russia is always COPY COPY STEAL STEAL from america alot..ussr russia is very cheat, very shame, and NOT to learning at all

[test4535563]

Man what a tit, the USSR has always been far and away superior to the states when it came to engineering. The only thing that stopped them taking full advantage of this potential was politics. First man in space, first spacewalk, first orbital docking, 7(!) space stations (Salyut 1-7, Cosmos-557, mir) etc.etc.

[Flashdealer]

Yeah, Communism really helped usher their shuttle program into the dark not to mention their own people.

I recommend that you reed the book "Riding Rocket" by astronaut Mike Mullane and then read Sky Walking by astronaut Tom Jones.

[greenseaships]

Priceless. I never realized so much footage of Buran escaped Russia.