The Life and Death of Russia's Space Shuttle Program

Pravda ^ | 09/02/03 | Vitaly Moiseyev

[bedolido]

Despite of the total collapse and economic degradation that the country is experiencing, Russia is still a super-power.

There are just few people who know that Lieutenant-General Vladimir Grigorkin made a considerable contribution into Russia's might. Like hundreds of people of this kind, this man spent his best years in the Siberian woods and Central Asia deserts where the nuclear shield was being created for the country.

The Energia-Buran project was the greatest one in which Vladimir Grigorkin participated. He still feels proud to speak about his participation in the project. "Now this well-known but still classified program is widely criticized. I would like to emphasize that the performance capability of the Energia-Buran project surpasses its American analogue, space shuttle. Soviet developers of the project designed it with such innovations that it would even today be considered a technological wonder.

I would also like to return an objection to those people who like to criticize the domestic defense establishment and say that Soviet experts were successfully working on laser weapons. As for this sphere, Russia is considerably ahead of the US."

With the help of the Energia rocket and the Buran orbital ship, we could have launched even military stations of different types. If we had done this, would have the Pentagon risked unleashing a war at any moment?

But when the Soviet Union collapsed, the Russian project of a space ship was abandoned. It is not clear what motivated the powers-that-be to allow one of the Buran project crafts put on public display in Moscow's Gorky Park of Culture."

Long before the Buran project, Vladimir Grigorkin participated in construction of launchig pads for different rockets. "I worked for a year in Siberia as the head of a department building silos for the world's most powerful ballistic rockets. NATO called the rockets "Satans". They could challenge the US' most modern anti-missile defense system. One rocket of this type carries up to ten self-guided high-power warheads. On board, the rocket has a considerable number of false targets to mislead the enemy. It's a pity that it was realized too late; it was important to keep the weapon in operation. The majority of rockets of the type were liquidated. even though they were still operable."

When Vladimir Grigorkin became the head of the special construction department of the Defense Ministry, the silos were being built across the Soviet Union. Now, we have such rockets in Russia only.

The general is not that anxious about the disputes concerning the so-called anti-missile defense. Some time ago, Vladimir Grigorkin participated in creation of an anti-missile shield around Moscow. He says that nowadays only 30 per cent of Russia is protected from attacks of aerospace vehicles, while in the Soviet era the missile shield covered the whole territory of the country. The general is indignant at the fact that the national defense has such large breaches that we may notice attacks of an enemy on some territories only when we see nuclear explosions over these territories.

Vladimir Grigorkin doesn't believe that NATO is peaceful: "We are told that NATO expansion toward the Russian borders won't do any harm to Russia. But unfortunately, the majority of the Russian population is ignorant of the fact that our new "friends" won't disarm. Today, the number of NATO planes is three times larger than that of Russia; where we have one tank NATO has five armored vehicles. NATO also enjoys the overwhelming advantage in human resources. In the Baltic region, NATO is busy with reconstruction of former Soviet aerodromes abandoned by our troops."

Last year, many news agencies spread sensational news: a workshop where the Buran orbital ships were kept collapsed. Vladimir Grigorkin tells details of the catastrophe: "There is a huge technical building on the Baikonur space center where rockets are being assembled. The size of the building is amazing; it is about 50 meters tall. When the roof of the building started leaking and repairing was started on it. For the sake of money saving, the authorities invited workers from Moldavia who charge less for repairing. The workers took the ruberoid off and stacked it into one spot on the roof. Finally, the slates couldn't endure the extra load and fell down upon the Buran orbital ship. It was the same ship that flew into space. Besides the space ship one more rocket got broken in the incident too.

The ruins are not yet completely cleared. This is awful that some dead bodies still remain under the debris. The clearing work was halted for an uncertain period."

Vitaly Moiseyev

[bedolido]

[Lazamataz]

"Now this well-known but still classified program is widely criticized. I would like to emphasize that the performance capability of the Energia-Buran project surpasses its American analogue, space shuttle. Soviet developers of the project designed it with such innovations that it would even today be considered a technological wonder.

Right. And the fact that the one robotic mission it went on had interior temperatures reaching 700 was just another technical innovation.

There's a reason the Buran is sitting in a Moscow park.

[Lazamataz]

"I worked for a year in Siberia as the head of a department building silos for the world's most powerful ballistic rockets. NATO called the rockets "Satans".

Hokay doke. That confirms it. The poor guy is in Alzheimers later stages.

[RS]

"The size of the building is amazing; it is about 50 meters tall. When the roof of the building started leaking and repairing was started on it. For the sake of money saving, the authorities invited workers from Moldavia who charge less for repairing. The workers took the ruberoid off and stacked it into one spot on the roof. Finally, the slates couldn't endure the extra load and fell down upon the Buran orbital ship. "

An "amazing" building that is only 15 stories tall ?

A vehicle assembly building with a SLATE roof ?

[Physicist]

Relic-of-Empire ping.

[ffusco]

Russia is not a super-power.

[RightWhale]

would have the Pentagon risked unleashing a war at any moment?

No paranoia deep in the Russian taiga.

[boris]

Most of the stack was a blatant copy of the US STS, whose blueprints and technical data they acquired from FOIA requests.

The RD-0120 engine which powered Buran is a nearly-exact copy of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) but at a slightly reduced thrust.

The only original and smart things they did were: (1) delete the solids [man-killers], and (2) make the thing capable of unmanned operation.

U.S. taxpayers spent a fortune helping the Russians make a "me too" imitiation shuttle. For example, the heat-resistant tiles were stolen straight from Dow/Corning...

--Boris

[bedolido]

Russia's shuttle Buran sits on its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome awaiting a November 1988 liftoff. NPO Molniya image.

Buran -- Russian for snowstorm -- is the name of the Russian shuttle that made one unmanned spaceflight in November 1988.

[ffusco]

Most of the stack was a blatant copy of the US STS, whose blueprints and technical data they acquired from FOIA requests.-boris

A longstanding tradition of outright theft,industrial espionage, plagiarism and contempt for patents and trademarks that included the A and H bombs and the B-29.

[alnitak]

Yep. They do have a "memorial website" with some videos of the launch you can download (in Russian, of course, but still interesting).

[Orion78]

The Buran Today

[RadioAstronomer]

Relic-of-Empire

Indeed!

Requiem bump.

[RusIvan]

trademarks that included the A and H bombs and the B-29.===

FYI soviet A bomb was started for development in 1943 and ahcived in 1949. Not bad for ragvaged by war country?

And american A bomb is not exactly american. You may probably argue that aMERICA PAYED FOR IT. Right! bUT DEVeLOPERS WAS THE CREAM of most brilliant EUROPIAN SCIENTISTS.
And Soviet Union managed to match that brain power of WHOLE Europe and resources of great America in the peak of her might. Isn't it the achivement?

How so about H bomb? As I recall soviets tested H bomb in 1953 BEFORE americans. This is the mark of definitive overpower of soviet and russian brains. The most of soviets in that project was accually russians.

[ffusco]

More Commie Propaganda.Soviet Russia got the A bomb from the Rosenberg's who were hung. I do give the Russian's credit for being first in space and the most EVA time, but their technology has always been inferior, like Chernoble and the Kursk and probably much more no body knows about.

[Brett66]

I would like to emphasize that the performance capability of the Energia-Buran project surpasses its American analogue, space shuttle.

That's not saying a whole lot.

[VeniVidiVici]

.. while in the Soviet era the missile shield covered the whole territory of the country.

Wasn't our hysterical democrat friends telling us that we needed to preserve and observe the Soviet/US ABM treaty?

Didn't that treaty only allow for an ABM shield around Moscow?

[RusIvan]

More Commie Propaganda.Soviet Russia got the A bomb from the Rosenberg's who were hung. ===

Yeah right:)).
The first reactor which produced plutonium was started in 1945 in Russia. What Rosenbergs in that time? The design of nuclier device accually was offered in 1939 by Igor Kurchatov the russian physitist.
Don't you answer the question why USSR tested H bomb first if russian scientists sit and wait when spies will provide them with blueprints?
If A bomb wasn't entirely soviet design then how soviet scientists got ahead in H bomb design and test? If you know nuclier phisics in extent of school course then you may know the H bomb technology is following of A bomb technology. If one is behind in first then it will be behind in second subject too.

but their technology has always been inferior, ===

Soviet/russian technology just simplier and rude but effetive. Like AK 47 rifle vs m-16. Both do thier job. But first cheaper 3 times and much superior reliable.

The crashes which you mentioned always was the work of human factor not technology.

If you beleive in superiority of western technology then I conclude you will have more surprises in future like "suddenly they first in space" sydrome.

Don't you know that the american stealth technology relies on the scientific theory of another russian scientist? He also proposed the means to beat it:).

I don't tell this to hurt someone pride but just for the fairness we need to debunk old coldwar era propaganda.

[McCloud-Strife]

actually, the ABM treaty allowed both countries to defend the capital city and one ICBM site, no more. The americans decided, what is the point of such a thing if 99% of the country is undefended

[Poohbah]

The first reactor which produced plutonium was started in 1945 in Russia. What Rosenbergs in that time?

The Rosenbergs were passing all kinds of nuclear data to the USSR during the war. This included the design of the plutonium reactor.

The design of nuclier device accually was offered in 1939 by Igor Kurchatov the russian physitist.

His design was extremely crude, and would not have worked.

Don't you answer the question why USSR tested H bomb first if russian scientists sit and wait when spies will provide them with blueprints?

Russia tested a tritium-boosted device about two years after we did. It was not an actual hydrogen bomb.