Russia’s forgotten space agency Soviet shuttles rotting in giant derelict hangar 

Russia’s forgotten space agency: Haunting images reveal two abandoned Soviet shuttles rotting in giant derelict hangar Photographer Ralph Mirebs visited an abandoned hangar near the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan It houses two prototype shuttles that were part of the ill-fated Buran shuttle programme This was designed to mimic Nasa’s successful Space Shuttles which flew for 30 years But after one test flight in 1988 the main Buran shuttle – and its other sister vehicles – were scrapped. In the 1980s, a little-known chapter in the space race took place when the Soviet Union attempted to build their own version of Nasa’s Space Shuttle. But despite a successful unmanned orbital test flight the Buran vehicles were soon scrapped amid rising budget cuts and left to rot in hangars. One of the Soviet shuttles was destroyed when its hangar collapsed in 2002, but two other models remain intact and have been pictured in a stunning series of photographs. In the 1980s, a little-known chapter in the space race took place when the Soviet Union attempted to build their own version of Nasa’s Space Shuttle. But despite a successful unmanned orbital test flight the Buran vehicles were soon scrapped amid rising budget cuts and left to rot in hangars. One of the Soviet shuttles was destroyed when its hangar collapsed in 2002, but two other models remain intact and have been pictured in a stunning series of photographs. Their similarity in appearance to Nasa’s Space Shuttles is not accidental – at the time, this was deemed to be the best way to create a vehicle that could travel to and from orbit, although some have also suggested espionage was at play. The Buran shuttle was intended to be launched on the huge Energia booster, similar to the giant orange Space Transporation System used by the Space Shuttles. Like the Space Shuttles, the Buran vehicles had engines located at the back, and two wings for a controlled landing back on Earth. Development of the programme began in 1976, with the reusable spacecraft (although the booster was not) capable of performing operations in orbit before returning to Earth. But after the one unmanned spaceflight in 1988, the programme was scrapped following the dissolution of the USSR in 1993. This was despite several other models and test vehicles being built, some of which reside in museums today. But these two shuttles in particular were simply left in the MKZ building at Baikonur Cosmodrome, with their basic structure still intact.

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