The Buran Space Shuttle

The Buran spacecraft was the only completed and operational space shuttle vehicle from the soviet Buran the Buran completed one unmanned spaceflight in 1988 before the cancelation of the soviet shuttle program in 1993. The Buran was crushed in a hanger collapse in 2002. The Buran spacecraft was designed for the delivery to orbit and return to Earth of spacecraft, cosmonauts, and supplies. It was piggy-backed on the Antonov An-225 Mriya aircraft, which was designed for this task and remains the longest aircraft in the world. It was lifted into orbit unmaned by the specially designed Energia booster rockets. The only orbital launch of Buran occurred at 3:00 UTC on 15 November 1988 from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 110/37.






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