Bald and Bankrupt video of finding the Soviet Space Shuttle- if you have 40 minutes to kill

[GON]

Enjoyable video of youtube vlogger "Bald and Bankrupt" on a search to find the 1970s designed Soviet Space Shuttle.

The video is 40 minutes, but for some a enjoyable watch and amazing find of the shuttle sitting in a remote Kazakhstan hanger.

 

[bullwinkle]

He’s lucky not to be sharing a jail cell with Britney Griner! Amazing find!

 

[loneryder]

Did they steal the design from us or us from them??

 

[GON]

Did they steal the design from us or us from them??

The Buran space was a space shuttle developed by the Soviet Union in response to NASA's space shuttle program. Buran, which means “snowstorm” in Russian, flew one time. NASA's space shuttle represented a new form of development for space vehicles.

 

[Owen Lucas]

The Buran space was a space shuttle developed by the Soviet Union in response to NASA's space shuttle program. Buran, which means “snowstorm” in Russian, flew one time. NASA's space shuttle represented a new form of development for space vehicles.

Apparently the Burans first flight was unmanned and landed by automatically. Quite a feat for the 80s if true.

 

[ctechbob]

I believe I remember reading that they stole it from us. Been a while since I've read that though, can't recall the source.

 

[97prizm]

If it only flew one time it's difficult to tell if it was really superior to the space shuttle

 

[Astro14]

I find it hard to believe that folks are asking the question of who stole the design! The Soviets had a long history of stealing designs, even tooling, from the US. Nuclear secrets, cars, airplanes - there‘s hundreds of examples.

Our shuttle program started in the early 1970s. First flew in 1981. The Buran prototype wasn’t completed until 1984. First flight 1988.

Even the Soviets called it a “response” because they believed the NASA space shuttle was a military vehicle.

So, yeah they copied us. Even said that was the intent.

 

[GON]

If it only flew one time it's difficult to tell if it was really superior to the space shuttle

The two shuttles had significant differences. The Soviet Buran could fly without pilots, as demonstrated on its first and only mission. The USA shuttle used solid fuel, the Soviet liquid fuel. It appears the USA shuttle costs per launch were significantly higher than the Buran projected costs.

Kind of like comparing the Boeing 787 to the Airbus A350. Lessons learned on the 787 design were exploited by the A350 design.

 

[jhellwig]

Ultimately the design is similar because it is designed to do similar things. When you have a room full of engineers trying to optimize a design for something it is bound to look similar.

 

[Jetronic]

Other than designed to do a similar mission, the buran wasn't an outright copy. Like mentioned above, an airbus and boeing look similar enough that you could consider one a copy of another.

But it was indeed a response to what NASA was doing.

Didn't watch the video, I watched older ones though. But isn't the Buran significantly bigger, does the video mention that? Had a quick google and they turn out to be around the same size and weight.

 

[andrew_j]

The Russians did steal the Buran design in 70’s to 80’s from US and actually improved upon ours in flight automation and remote control and other aspects. They could not obviously make an exact copy but close.