[txradioguy]

What ever became of the Russian Shuttle? have they mothballed it? Would they be able to roll it out for use at the ISS or to augment the U.S. Shuttle till we can get another one built?

[RummyChick]

Maybe they couldn't afford it since Lance Bass couldn't pony up the money for his ride...;-)

[Riley]

What ever became of the Russian Shuttle? have they mothballed it? Would they be able to roll it out for use at the ISS or to augment the U.S. Shuttle till we can get another one built?

I think the Buran is stripped out and sitting in Gorkiy Park on public display.

[twyn1]

We have other shuttles -- not sure how many still in commission -- 2 or 3 ?? I don't think we would bother with the expense to build another one, the technology is old -- some want to go beyond the shuttle era, but the billions involved for very little gain is a real stinking point (other than being a kinda-cool sci-fi PR ploy, what important purpose does the space station actually serve ??)

[buccaneer81]

What ever became of the Russian Shuttle?

Buran never flew with humans aboard. The one prototype is gathering dust somewhere in Russia. We could design and build an improved shuttle before Buran ever saw daylight.

[RadioAstronomer]

What ever became of the Russian Shuttle? have they mothballed it? Would they be able to roll it out for use at the ISS or to augment the U.S. Shuttle till we can get another one built?

That is a program that cannot be resurrected.

[plsvn]

What ever became of the Russian Shuttle? have they mothballed it? Would they be able to roll it out for use at the ISS or to augment the U.S. Shuttle till we can get another one built?

I don't think so.... I think it was turned into a restaurant (no joke).

[George W. Bush]

What ever became of the Russian Shuttle?

Didn't it get mothballed at that big aerospace museum/graveyard outside Moscow? At least, that was my recollection.

At any rate, it's called Buran. A single flight of two orbits and it landed under autopilot in a 38mph crosswind within 5 feet of a runway center marker.

The Russkies were pretty good with space technology. Never fancy but good results.

Two newer Burans were supposedly dismantled when the program was cancelled. Some Buran shuttle (the original) was displayed in Australia and other places. And there was something about one of the Buran's getting auctioned off in L.A. with a start bid of $6 million.

Bush to address the nation in 2 minutes.