View source for Buran programme

{{short description|Soviet research project on spaceplanes}}
{{italic title|string=Buran}}
{{EngvarB|date = December 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox space programme
| name            = ''Buran'' programme
| image           = Antonov An-225 with Soviet space shuttle Buran on top.jpeg
| image_size      = 
| alt             = 
| caption         = The [[Antonov An-225 Mriya]] carrying a ''Buran'' orbiter in 1989.
| country         = [[Soviet Union]]{{\}}[[Russia]]
| organisation    = [[Roscosmos]] (1991–1993)
| programme       = N
| purpose         = crewed orbital flight and reentry
| cost            = 
| status          = Cancelled
| duration        = 1971–1993
| firstflight     = [[OK-GLI]] Flight 1 (10 November 1985)
| firstcrewed     = 
| lastflight      = [[Buran (spacecraft)#Orbital flight|OK-1K1]] (15 November 1988)
| successes       = 1
| failures        = 0
| partialfailures = 
| launchsite      = [[Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 110|Baikonur pad 110/37]]
| crewvehicle     = ''Buran''-class orbiter
| capacity        = 10 cosmonauts
| launcher        = [[Energia (rocket)|Energia]]
| native_name_a   = Космическая программа «Энергия» — «Буран»
| native_name_r   = Kosmicheskaya Programma Energia — Buran
}}
{{geoGroup}}
The '''''Buran'' programme''' ({{langx|ru|Буран}}, {{IPA|ru|bʊˈran|IPA}}, "Snowstorm", "Blizzard"), also known as the "'''VKK Space Orbiter programme'''" ({{langx|ru|ВКК «Воздушно-Космический Корабль»|lit=Air and Space Ship}}),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sciencefirsthand.ru/gunko.pdf |script-title=ru:Воздушно-космический Корабль |language=ru |trans-title=Air-Space Ship |access-date=2 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060320022443/http://www.sciencefirsthand.ru/gunko.pdf |archive-date=20 March 2006}}</ref> was a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] and later Russian reusable [[spacecraft]] project that began in 1974 at the [[Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute]] in [[Moscow]] and was formally suspended in 1993.<ref name="harvey" /> In addition to being the designation for the whole Soviet/Russian reusable spacecraft project, ''Buran'' was also the name given to [[Buran (spacecraft)|orbiter 1K]], which completed one uncrewed spaceflight in 1988 and was the only Soviet reusable spacecraft to be launched into space. The Buran-class orbiters used the expendable [[Energia (rocket)|Energia]] rocket as a [[launch vehicle]].

The Buran programme was started by the [[Soviet Union]] as a response to the United States [[Space Shuttle program]]<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmbZ4-kgaak  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/TmbZ4-kgaak| archive-date=11 December 2021 |url-status=live|title=Russian shuttle dream dashed by Soviet crash |work=YouTube.com |publisher=[[RT (TV network)|Russia Today]] |date=15 November 2007 |access-date=16 July 2009}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and benefited from extensive espionage undertaken by the [[KGB]] of the unclassified US Space Shuttle program,<ref name="NBC News">{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna18686090 |title=How the Soviets stole a space shuttle |work=NBC News |last=Windrem |first=Robert |date=4 November 1997 |access-date=10 September 2013 |archive-date=30 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330225718/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18686090/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/how-soviets-stole-space-shuttle/ |url-status=live }}</ref> resulting in many superficial and functional similarities between American and Soviet Shuttle designs.<ref name="Discover Magazine">{{cite news |url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/real-life-rogue-one-how-the-soviets-stole-nasas-shuttle-plans |title=Real-Life Rogue One: How the Soviets Stole NASA's Shuttle Plans |work=Discover Magazine |last=Betz |first=Eric |date=4 December 2016}}</ref> Although the Buran class was similar in appearance to [[NASA]]'s [[Space Shuttle orbiter]], and could similarly operate as a [[re-entry]] [[spaceplane]], its final internal and functional design was different. For example, the main engines during launch were on the Energia rocket and were not taken into orbit by the spacecraft. Smaller rocket engines on the craft's body provided propulsion in orbit and de-orbital burns, similar to the Space Shuttle's [[Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System|OMS pods]]. Unlike the Space Shuttle whose [[STS-1|first orbital spaceflight]] was accomplished in April 1981, Buran, whose [[List of Buran missions|first and only spaceflight]] occurred in November 1988, had a capability of flying uncrewed missions, as well as performing fully automated landings.<ref>The Space Shuttle could not perform uncrewed missions but was capable of fully automatic landing up to the point of ground rollout, during which the Pilot would have to steer the orbiter down the runway centerline.  A test demonstration of this autoland capability was planned, but, as recounted by former NASA Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale, who was a flight controller at JSC on that shuttle mission, the test was cancelled while the orbiter was already on orbit, by the action of an admiral who insisted that the test posed an unnecessary and unreasonable risk to the crew.  (Source: Wayne Hale's NASA blog)</ref> The project was the largest and the most expensive in the history of Soviet [[space exploration]].<ref name="harvey">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kmTz6Phf5WYC&pg=PA8 |title=The Rebirth of the Russian Space Programme: 50 Years After Sputnik, New Frontiers |publisher=Springer |first=Brian |last=Harvey |year=2007 |page=8 |isbn=978-0-38-771356-4 |access-date=9 February 2016 |archive-date=24 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624065603/https://books.google.com/books?id=kmTz6Phf5WYC&pg=PA8 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Background ==
The Soviet reusable spacecraft programme has its roots in the late 1950s, at the very beginning of the space age. The idea of Soviet reusable space flight is very old, though it was neither continuous nor consistently organized. Before Buran, no project of the programme reached operational status.

The first step toward a reusable Soviet spacecraft was the 1954 [[Burya]], a high-altitude prototype jet aircraft/cruise missile. Several test flights were made before it was cancelled by order of the [[Central Committee]]. The [[Burya]] had the goal of delivering a nuclear payload, presumably to the United States, and then returning to base. The Burya programme was cancelled by the USSR in favor of a decision to develop [[ICBM]]s instead. The next iteration of a reusable spacecraft was the [[Zvezda (spacecraft)|Zvezda]] design, which also reached a prototype stage. Decades later, [[Zvezda (ISS module)|another project with the same name]] would be used as a service module for the [[International Space Station]]. After Zvezda, there was a hiatus in reusable projects until Buran.

The Buran orbital vehicle programme was developed in response to the U.S. Space Shuttle program, which raised considerable concerns among the Soviet military and especially Defense Minister [[Dmitry Ustinov]]. An authoritative chronicler of the Soviet and later Russian space programme, the academic [[Boris Chertok]], recounts how the programme came into being.<ref name="rockets_and_people_3">{{cite book |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4110/vol3.pdf |title=Rockets and People, Volume 3: Hot Days of the Cold War |publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration |series=NASA History Series |first=Boris E. |last=Chertok |author-link=Boris Chertok |editor-first=Asif A. |editor-last=Siddiqi |date=May 2009 |id=SP-2005-4110 |isbn=978-0-16-081733-5 |access-date=12 July 2017 |archive-date=25 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225230729/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4110/vol3.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Chertok, after the U.S. developed its Space Shuttle program, the Soviet military became suspicious that it could be used for military purposes, due to its enormous payload, several times that of previous U.S. launch vehicles. Officially, the Buran orbital vehicle was designed for the delivery to orbit and return to Earth of spacecraft, cosmonauts, and supplies. Both Chertok and [[Gleb Lozino-Lozinskiy]] (General Designer and General Director of [[NPO Molniya]]) suggest that from the beginning, the programme was military in nature; however, the exact military capabilities, or intended capabilities, of the Buran programme remain classified.

Like its American counterpart, the Buran orbital vehicle, when in transit from its landing sites back to the launch complex, was transported on the back of a large jet aeroplane – the [[Antonov An-225 Mriya]] transport aircraft, which was designed in part for this task and was the largest aircraft in the world to fly multiple times.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theaviationzone.com/factsheets/an225.asp |title=Antonov An-225 Mryia (Cossack) |website=theAviationZone.com |date=2003 |access-date=1 June 2015 |archive-date=25 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925112446/http://www.theaviationzone.com/factsheets/an225.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> Before the ''Mriya'' was ready (after the Buran had flown), the [[Myasishchev VM-T]] ''Atlant'', a variant on the Soviet [[Myasishchev M-4]] ''Molot'' (Hammer) bomber (NATO code: Bison), fulfilled the same role.

== History of the Buran programme ==
[[File:The World's First Five Spaceplanes.png|thumb|right|The [[Buran (spacecraft)|Buran]] orbiter ranks among the world's first [[spaceplanes]], with the [[North American X-15]], the [[Space Shuttle]], [[SpaceShipOne]], and the [[Boeing X-37]]. Of these, only the Buran and X-37 spaceflights were [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|uncrewed]].]]

=== Programme development ===
The development of the Buran began in the early 1970s as a response to the U.S. Space Shuttle program. Soviet officials were concerned about a perceived military threat posed by the U.S. Space Shuttle. In their opinion, the Shuttle's 30-ton payload-to-orbit capacity and, more significantly, its 15-ton payload return capacity, were a clear indication that one of its main objectives would be to place massive experimental laser weapons into orbit that could destroy enemy missiles from a distance of several thousands of kilometres. Their reasoning was that such weapons could only be effectively tested in actual space conditions and that to cut their development time and save costs it would be necessary to regularly bring them back to Earth for modifications and fine-tuning.{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007}} Soviet officials were also concerned that the U.S. Space Shuttle could make a sudden dive into the atmosphere to drop nuclear bombs on Moscow.<ref name="gubanov98triumph">{{cite book |url=https://www.buran.ru/htm/03-3.htm |script-title=ru:Триумф и трагедия „Энергии“ |title=Triumf i tragediya Energii|trans-title=Triumph and Tragedy, Energiya|volume=3 |page=33 |publisher=Publisher of the Nizhny Novgorod Institute of Economic Development |first=Boris |last=Gubanov |date=1998 |isbn=5-93320-002-6 |access-date=11 March 2021 |archive-date=1 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101183616/https://www.buran.ru/htm/03-3.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BBC Buran">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7738489.stm |title=Buran – the Soviet 'space shuttle' |work=BBC News |first=Anatoly |last=Zak |date=20 November 2008 |access-date=7 December 2008 |archive-date=30 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330225717/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7738489.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1974, [[Valentin Glushko]]'s design bureau, [[OKB-1]] (later NPO Energiya), proposed a new family of heavy-lift rockets called RLA ({{langx|ru|РЛА, «Ракетные Летательные Аппараты»|Raketnyye Letatel'niye Apparaty|lit=Rocket Flying Apparatus}}). The RLA concept included the use of kerosene and liquid hydrogen as fuel, and liquid oxygen as oxidizer (both new technologies in the Soviet space programme), with the shuttle orbiter being one possible payload.{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007|p=62}} While [[NPO Molniya]] conducted development under the lead of [[Gleb Lozino-Lozinskiy]], the Soviet Union's Military-Industrial Commission, or VPK, was tasked with collecting all data it could on the U.S. Space Shuttle. Under the auspices of the KGB, the VPK was able to amass documentation on the American shuttle's airframe designs, design analysis software, materials, flight computer systems and propulsion systems. The KGB targeted many university research project documents and databases, including Caltech, MIT, Princeton, Stanford and others. The thoroughness of the acquisition of data was made much easier as the U.S. shuttle development was unclassified.<ref name="NBC News"/>

By 1975, NPO Energiya had come up with two competing designs for the orbiter vehicle: the MTKVP ({{langx|ru|МТКВП, «Многоразовый Транспортный Корабль Вертикальной Посадки»|Mnogorazoviy Transportniy Korabl' Vertikal'noy Posadki|lit=Reusable Vertical Landing Transport Ship}}), a 34-meter-long [[lifting body]] spaceplane launched on top of a stack of kerosene-fueled strap on boosters;{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007|p=71}} and the OS-120 ({{langx|ru|ОС-120, «Орбитальный Самолет»|Orbital'niy Samolet|lit=Orbital Spaceplane–120 tons}}), a close copy of the US Space Shuttle based on US Space Shuttle documentation and designs obtained through the VPK and KGB.<ref name="NBC News"/> The OS-120 was a delta-winged spaceplane based heavily on the US Space Shuttle design, equipped with three liquid hydrogen engines, strapped to a detachable external tank and four liquid fuel boosters (NPO Energiya even considered the use of [[solid propellant rocket]] boosters, further imitating the US Shuttle's configuration).{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007|p=73}}

A compromise between these two proposals was achieved by NPO Energiya in January 1976 with the OK-92 ({{langx|ru|ОК-92, «Орбитальный Корабль»|Orbital'niy Korabl'|lit=Orbital Ship–92 tons}}), a delta-winged orbiter equipped with two [[Soloviev D-30]] turbofan jet engines for autonomous atmospheric flight, launched to space from a rocket stack made of a core stage with three cryogenic engines, and four kerosene-fueled boosters, each with four engines.{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007|p=76}} By 1978, the OK-92 design was further refined, with its final configuration completed in June 1979.{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007|p=82}}
[[File:"Buran" approaching a manned space complex.JPEG|thumb|Early artist's concept of a Soviet space shuttle approaching a manned space complex.]]
Soviet [[engineer]]s were initially reluctant to implement a spacecraft design with so many similarities to the US Space Shuttle. Although it has been commented that [[wind tunnel]] testing showed that NASA's design was already ideal,<ref>{{cite book |title=Spaceflight: The Complete Story From Sputnik to Shuttle—and Beyond |publisher=DK Publishers |first=Giles |last=Sparrow |year=2009 |page=215 |isbn=9780756656416}}</ref> the shape requirements were mandated by its potential military capabilities to transport large payloads to low Earth orbit, themselves a counterpart to the [[United States Department of Defense|Pentagon]]'s initially projected missions for the Shuttle.{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007|p=83}} Even though the Molniya Scientific Production Association proposed its [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-105|Spiral]] programme design<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.buran.ru/htm/bors.htm#bor-4|title=Аппараты БОР|website=www.buran.ru|access-date=29 November 2020|archive-date=13 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713131801/http://www.buran.ru/htm/bors.htm#bor-4|url-status=live}}</ref> (halted 13 years earlier), it was rejected as being altogether dissimilar from the American shuttle design.

The construction of the shuttles began in 1980, and by 1984 the first full-scale Buran was rolled out. The first [[sub-orbital flight|suborbital]] test flight of a scale-model ([[BOR-5]]) took place as early as July 1983. As the project progressed, five additional scale-model flights were performed. A test vehicle was constructed with four jet engines mounted at the rear; this vehicle is usually referred to as [[OK-GLI]], or as the "Buran aerodynamic analogue". The jets were used to take off from a normal landing strip, and once it reached a designated point, the engines were cut and OK-GLI glided back to land. This provided invaluable information about the handling characteristics of the Buran design, and significantly differed from the carrier plane/air drop method used by the United States and the{{OV|101|full=no}} test craft. Twenty-four test flights of OK-GLI were performed by the [[Gromov Flight Research Institute]] [[test pilot]]s and researchers after which the shuttle was "worn out". The developers considered using a couple of [[Mil Mi-26]] [[helicopter]]s to "bundle" lift the Buran, but test flights with a [[mock-up]] showed how risky and impractical that was.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buran-energia.com/documentation/documentation-akc-air-transportation.php |title=BURAN Orbital Spaceship Airframe Creation |work=Buran-Energia.com |first=V. A. |last=Fedotov |access-date=22 January 2013 |archive-date=26 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121126215801/http://www.buran-energia.com/documentation/documentation-akc-air-transportation.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Myasishchev VM-T|VM-T]] ferried components<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buran-energia.com/vmt-atlant/vmt-desc.php |title=VM-T Atlant: Description |work=Buran-Energia.com |first=Vassili |last=Petrovitch |access-date=22 January 2013 |archive-date=25 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125204254/http://www.buran-energia.com/vmt-atlant/vmt-desc.php |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[Antonov An-225 Mriya]] (the heaviest airplane ever) was designed and used to ferry the shuttle.<ref name=goebAn>{{cite web |url=http://www.airvectors.net/avantgt.html#m3 |title=The Antonov Giants: An-22, An-124, & An-225 – Antonov An-225 Mriya ("Cossack") |work=Airvectors.net |first=Greg |last=Goebel |access-date=21 August 2012 |archive-date=5 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121205123323/http://www.airvectors.net/avantgt.html#m3 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=goebMriya>{{cite web |url=http://vectorsite.net/tashutl_c08.html#m1 |title=Postscript: The Other Shuttles – The Soviet Buran shuttle programme |work=Vectorsite.net |first=Greg |last=Goebel |access-date=21 August 2012 |archive-date=11 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211001433/http://www.vectorsite.net/tashutl_c08.html#m1 |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

The flight and ground-testing software also required research. In 1983 the Buran developers estimated that the software development would require several thousand programmers if done with their existing methodology (in assembly language), and they appealed to [[Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics]] for assistance. It was decided to develop a new high-level "problem-oriented" programming language. Researchers at Keldysh developed two languages: PROL2 (used for real-time programming of onboard systems) and DIPOL (used for the ground-based test systems), as well as the development and debugging environment SAPO PROLOGUE.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.keldysh.ru/pages/anniver/achievment/22_prog.htm |title=Системное и прикладное программирование |trans-title=System and application programming |series=50th Anniversary of Institute for Applied Mathematics |publisher=Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics |date=2004 |access-date=24 March 2015 |archive-date=14 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914024335/http://www.keldysh.ru/pages/anniver/achievment/22_prog.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> There was also an operating system known as Prolog Manager.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.keldysh.ru/departments/dpt_23/dpt_23.html |title=Отдел программных комплексов |trans-title=Department of software systems |publisher=Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics |access-date=26 March 2015 |archive-date=5 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905184330/http://www.keldysh.ru/departments/dpt_23/dpt_23.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Work on these languages continued beyond the end of the Buran programme, with PROL2 being extended into SIPROL,<ref>{{cite conference |url=http://doc.sumy.ua/prog/prg96/85.htm |title=Интегрированный подход к разработке крупных программных систем управления реального времени |trans-title=An integrated approach to the development of large software systems, real-time control |conference=Индустрия программирования [Software industry] |location=Moscow |first1=V. |last1=Kryukov |first2=A. |last2=Petrenko |name-list-style=amp |date=1996 |access-date=25 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402102611/http://doc.sumy.ua/prog/prg96/85.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and eventually all three languages developed into [[DRAKON]]{{citation needed|date=July 2022}} which is still in use in the Russian space industry. A declassified May 1990 CIA report citing [[open-source intelligence]] material states that the software for the Buran spacecraft was written in "the French-developed programming language known as [[Prolog]]",<ref name="SovSoftProd">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000498691.pdf |title=Soviet Software Productivity: Isolated Gains in an Uphill Battle |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |page=7 |date=May 1990 |id=SW 90-10029X |access-date=9 July 2016 |archive-date=4 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804152747/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000498691.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> possibly due to confusion with the name PROLOGUE.

=== Flight crew preparation ===
{{main|List of human spaceflight programs}}
[[File:Igor Volk 2.jpg|thumb|Igor Petrovich Volk, cosmonaut and test pilot of the OK-GLI.]]
Until the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, seven [[cosmonaut]]s were allocated to the Buran programme and trained on the [[OK-GLI|OK-GLI ("Buran aerodynamic analogue")]] test vehicle. All had experience as test pilots. They were: [[Ivan Ivanovich Bachurin]], [[Alexei Sergeyevich Borodai]], [[Anatoli Levchenko|Anatoli Semyonovich Levchenko]], [[Aleksandr Vladimirovich Shchukin]], [[Rimantas Stankevičius|Rimantas Antanas Stankevičius]], [[Igor Volk|Igor Petrovich Volk]], and [[Viktor Vasiliyevich Zabolotsky]].

A rule, set in place for cosmonauts after the failed [[Soyuz 25]] mission of 1977, stipulated that all Soviet space missions must contain at least one crew member who has been to space before. In 1982, it was decided that all Buran commanders and their back-ups would occupy the third seat on a Soyuz mission, prior to their Buran spaceflight. Several people had been selected to potentially be in the first Buran crew. By 1985, it was decided that at least one of the two crew members would be a [[test pilot]] trained at the [[Gromov Flight Research Institute]] (known as "LII"), and potential crew lists were drawn up. Only two potential Buran crew members reached space: [[Igor Volk]], who flew in [[Soyuz T-12]] to the space station [[Salyut 7]], and [[Anatoli Levchenko]] who visited [[Mir]], launching with [[Soyuz TM-4]] and landing with [[Soyuz TM-3]]. Both of these spaceflights lasted about a week.{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007}}

Levchenko died of a brain tumour the year after his orbital flight, Bachurin left the cosmonaut corps because of medical reasons, Shchukin was assigned to the back-up crew of Soyuz TM-4 and later died in a plane crash, Stankevičius was also killed in a plane crash, while Borodai and Zabolotsky remained unassigned to a Soyuz flight until the Buran programme ended.

==== Spaceflight of I. P. Volk ====
{{main|Soyuz T-12}}

[[File:1985 CPA 5654.jpg|thumb|The crew of [[Soyuz T-12]] ([[Vladimir Dzhanibekov]], [[Svetlana Savitskaya]], and [[Igor Volk]]) on a stamp issued in 1985]]
[[Igor Volk]] was planned to be the commander of the first crewed Buran flight. There were two purposes of the Soyuz T-12 mission, one of which was to give Volk spaceflight experience. The other purpose, seen as the more important factor, was to beat the United States and have the first [[Extra-vehicular activity|spacewalk]] by a woman.{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007}} At the time of the Soyuz T-12 mission the Buran programme was still a [[Classified information|state secret]]. The appearance of Volk as a crew member caused some, including the [[British Interplanetary Society]] magazine ''[[Spaceflight (magazine)|Spaceflight]]'', to ask why a test pilot was occupying a Soyuz seat usually reserved for researchers or foreign cosmonauts.{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007|p=526}}

==== Spaceflight of A. S. Levchenko ====

[[Anatoli Levchenko]] was planned to be the back-up commander of the first crewed Buran flight, and in March 1987 he began extensive training for his Soyuz spaceflight.{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007}} In December 1987, he occupied the third seat aboard [[Soyuz TM-4]] to Mir, and returned to Earth about a week later on [[Soyuz TM-3]]. His mission is sometimes called ''Mir LII-1'', after the [[Gromov Flight Research Institute]] shorthand.<ref name="EA-LII">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.astronautix.com/flights/mirlii1.htm |title=Mir LII-1 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Astronautica]] |first=Mark |last=Wade |access-date=15 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130020104/http://astronautix.com/flights/mirlii1.htm |archive-date=30 November 2010}}</ref> When Levchenko died the following year, it left the back-up crew of the first Buran mission again without spaceflight experience. A Soyuz spaceflight for another potential back-up commander was sought by the Gromov Flight Research Institute, but never occurred.{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007}}

=== Ground facilities ===
[[File:"Buran" launch at Baikonur.JPEG|thumb|Early illustration of a Buran launch at Baikonur]]
Maintenance, launches and landings of the Buran-class orbiters were to take place at the [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]] in the [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Kazakh SSR]]. Several facilities at Baikonur were adapted or newly built for these purposes:

* [[File:"Buran" at launch pad.JPEG|thumb|Illustration of ''Buran'' and Energia at Site 110]][[Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 110|Site 110]] – Used for the launch of the Buran-class orbiters. Like the assembly and processing hall at Site 112, the launch complex was originally constructed for the [[Soviet crewed lunar programs|Soviet lunar landing program]] and later converted for the Energia-Buran program.
* Site 112 – Used for orbiter maintenance and to mate the orbiters to their [[Energia (rocket)|Energia]] launchers (thus fulfilling a role similar to the [[Vehicle Assembly Building|VAB]] at [[Kennedy Space Center|KSC]]). The main hangar at the site, called ''MIK RN'' or ''MIK 112'', was originally built for the assembly of the [[N1 (rocket)|N1 Moon rocket]]. After cancellation of the N-1 programme in 1974, the facilities at Site 112 were converted for the Energia-Buran programme. It was here that [[Buran (spacecraft)|orbiter 1K]] was stored after the end of the Buran programme and was destroyed when the hangar roof collapsed in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_energia_112.html |title=Centers: Baikonur: Energia-Buran facilities: Site 112 |website=RussianSpaceWeb.com |first=Anatoly |last=Zak |date=7 April 2013 |access-date=2 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706112853/http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_energia_112.html |archive-date=6 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buran-energia.com/bourane-buran/bourane-fin.php |title=End of an adventure |website=Buran-Energia.com |first=Vassili |last=Petrovitch |access-date=16 August 2020 |archive-date=5 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905191348/http://www.buran-energia.com/bourane-buran/bourane-fin.php |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Site 251 – Used as Buran orbiter landing facility, also known as ''Yubileyniy Airfield'' (and fulfilling a role similar to the [[Shuttle Landing Facility|SLF]] at [[Kennedy Space Center|KSC]]). It features one runway, called 06/24, which is {{convert|4500|m|yd}} long and {{convert|84|m|yd}} wide, paved with "Grade 600" high quality reinforced concrete. At the edge of the runway was a special [[Mate-Demate Device|mating-demating device]], designed to lift an orbiter off its [[Antonov An-225 Mriya]] carrier aircraft and load it on a transporter, which would carry the orbiter to the processing building at Site 254. A purpose-built orbiter landing control facility, housed in a large multi-storey office building, was located near the runway. ''Yubileyniy Airfield'' was also used to receive heavy transport planes carrying elements of the Energia-Buran system. After the end of the Buran programme, Site 251 was abandoned but later reopened as a commercial cargo airport. Besides serving Baikonur, Kazakh authorities also use it for passenger and charter flights from Russia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_energia_251.html |title=Centers: Baikonur: Energia-Buran facilities: Site 251 |website=RussianSpaceWeb.com |first=Anatoly |last=Zak |date=7 April 2013 |access-date=2 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225010245/http://russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_energia_251.html |archive-date=25 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ourairports.com/airports/UAON/ |title=UAON |website=OurAirports |access-date=16 August 2020 |archive-date=17 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817040312/http://ourairports.com/airports/UAON/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Site 254 – Built to service the Buran-class orbiters between flights (thus fulfilling a role similar to the [[Orbiter Processing Facility|OPF]] at [[Kennedy Space Center|KSC]]). Constructed in the 1980s as a special four-bay building, it also featured a large processing area flanked by several floors of test rooms. After cancellation of the Buran programme it was adapted for pre-launch operations of the [[Soyuz (spacecraft)|Soyuz]] and [[Progress (spacecraft)|Progress]] spacecraft.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_energia_254.html |title=Centers: Baikonur: Energia-Buran facilities: Site 254 |website=RussianSpaceWeb.com |first=Anatoly |last=Zak |date=28 October 2009 |access-date=2 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150809030907/http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_energia_254.html |archive-date=9 August 2015}}</ref>

=== Missions ===
==== Atmospheric test flights ====
{{Main|OK-GLI#Test flights}}

[[File:VKK Buran AN0077204.jpg|thumb|OK-GLI Buran aerodynamic analogue]]
An aerodynamic testbed, [[OK-GLI]], was constructed in 1984 to test the in-flight properties of the Buran design. Unlike the American prototype {{OV|101}}, OK-GLI had four [[Saturn AL-31|AL-31]] [[turbofan]] engines fitted, meaning it was able to fly under its own power.

==== Orbital flight of ''Buran'' in 1988 ====
{{Main|List of Buran missions}}
<!-- references in this section are prefixed with "buran-" for clarity -->

Following a series of atmospheric test flights using the jet-powered [[OK-GLI]] prototype, the first operational spacecraft ([[Buran (spacecraft)|''Buran'', orbiter 1K]]) flew one uncrewed test mission.{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007|page=349}}

At 03:00&nbsp;[[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] on 15 November 1988, ''Buran'' and the Energia carrier rocket lifted off from [[Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 110|pad 110/37]] in Baikonur.{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007|page=349}} The life support system was not installed for the flight and no data was displayed on the [[CRT display]]s in the Command Compartment.<ref name="nasa">{{cite web |date=12 November 1997 |title=Shuttle Buran |url=http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/rsa/buran.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060804153528/http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/rsa/buran.html |archive-date=4 August 2006 |work=NASA.gov}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable"
! scope="col" width="40"|No
! width="125"|Launch Date
! Mission
! Shuttle
! Crew
! Duration
! Landing Site
! Notes
! Sources
|-
! scope="row" | 1
|{{sort|19820322|15 November 1988}}<br />03:00:02&nbsp;UTC<br />06:00:02&nbsp;MSK
|'''1K1'''
|[[Buran (spacecraft)|''Buran'']]
|0
|{{time interval|15 November 1988 03:00:02|15 November 1988 06:25:24|abbr=on|show=dhms|sep=space}}
|[[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]
|
*Only flight of ''Buran''
*Only uncrewed flight of Space Shuttle type vehicle
|<ref name="buran-nytimes">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/16/us/soviet-space-shuttle-orbits-and-returns-in-unmanned-debut.html |title=Soviet Space Shuttle Orbits and Returns In Unmanned Debut |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=Felicity |last=Barringer |date=16 November 1988 |access-date=23 November 2013 |archive-date=19 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219190051/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/16/us/soviet-space-shuttle-orbits-and-returns-in-unmanned-debut.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="buran-CSM">{{cite news |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1988/1117/elaunch.html |title=Soviet shuttle |newspaper=[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |author=R. S. |date=17 November 1988 |access-date=15 January 2013 |archive-date=3 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003115559/http://www.csmonitor.com/1988/1117/elaunch.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="buran_spaceDaily">{{cite news |url=http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_starts_ambitious_super_heavy_space_rocket_project_999.html |title=Russia starts ambitious super-heavy space rocket project |publisher=Space Daily |date=19 November 2013 |access-date=2 October 2014 |archive-date=6 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006161815/http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_starts_ambitious_super_heavy_space_rocket_project_999.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buran.ru/htm/cikmain.htm |title=Циклограмма полета орбитального корабля "Буран" 15 ноября 1988 г. |website=Buran.ru |language=ru |access-date=15 August 2020 |archive-date=30 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200430124724/http://www.buran.ru/htm/cikmain.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
|}

The shuttle orbited the [[Earth]] twice, travelling {{convert|83707|km|mi}} in 3 hours and 25 minutes (0.14 flight days).{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007|page=356}} On its return, it performed an automated landing on the shuttle runway (Site 251) at [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]].<ref name="rockets_and_people">{{cite book |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4110/vol1.pdf |title=Rockets and People, Volume 1 |publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration |series=NASA History Series |first=Boris E. |last=Chertok |author-link=Boris Chertok |editor-first=Asif A. |editor-last=Siddiqi |page=179 |date=January 2005 |id=SP-2005-4110 |asin=B0075GLYQG |access-date=16 August 2020 |archive-date=29 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329153404/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4110/vol1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Planned flights ====
[[File:"Buran" docked to "Mir" space station.jpg|thumb|Planned ''Ptichka'' mission to Mir space station]]
The planned flights for the shuttles in 1989, before the downsizing of the project and eventual cancellation, were:<ref name="projected">{{cite web |url=http://www.buran.ru/htm/pilots.htm |script-title=ru:Экипажи "Бурана": Несбывшиеся планы |trans-title=The Crews of "Buran": Unfulfilled Plans |work=Buran.ru |first=Vadim |last=Lukashevich |access-date=5 August 2006 |language=ru |archive-date=17 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060717053358/http://www.buran.ru/htm/pilots.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1991 — [[Ptichka|Orbiter 2K]] uncrewed first flight, duration 1–2 days.
* 1992 — Orbiter 2K uncrewed second flight, duration 7–8 days. Orbital manoeuvres and space station approach test.
* 1993 — ''Buran'' (1K) uncrewed second flight, duration 15–20 days.
* 1994 — [[2.01 (Buran-class spacecraft)|Orbiter 3K]] first crewed space test flight, duration of 24 hours. Craft equipped with life-support system and with two ejection seats. Crew would consist of two cosmonauts with [[Igor Volk]] as commander, and a flight engineer.
* 1994-1995 - Second, third, fourth and fifth crewed orbital test flights.

The planned uncrewed second flight of orbiter 2K was changed in 1991 to the following:
* December 1991 — Orbiter 2K uncrewed second flight, with a duration of 7–8 days. Orbital maneuvers and space station approach test: 
** automatic docking with [[Mir]]'s [[Kristall]] module
** crew transfer from Mir to the orbiter, with testing of some of its systems in the course of twenty-four hours, including the remote manipulator
** undocking and autonomous flight in orbit
** docking of the crewed [[Soyuz TM-101]] with orbiter 2K
** crew transfer from the Soyuz to the orbiter and onboard work in the course of twenty-four hours
** automatic undocking and landing

=== Cancellation of the programme 1993 ===
[[File:Buran family.png|thumb|Buran family, showing test articles and orbiters in different completion stages.]]
After the first flight of a Buran shuttle, the project was suspended due to lack of funds and the political situation in the Soviet Union. The two subsequent orbiters, which were due in 1990 (Orbiter 2K) and 1992 (Orbiter 3K) were never completed with other articles being scrapped (see next section).

The project was officially terminated on 30 June 1993, by President [[Boris Yeltsin]]. At the time of its cancellation, 20 billion [[Soviet rouble|roubles]] had been spent on the Buran programme.<ref name="cancellation">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Yeltsin cancels Buran project |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Astronautica]] |url=http://www.astronautix.com/details/yelt5401.htm |access-date=2 July 2006 |last=Wade |first=Mark |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060630161703/http://astronautix.com/details/yelt5401.htm |archive-date=30 June 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Commenting on the discontinuation of the programme in his interview to ''[[New Scientist]]'', Russian [[cosmonaut]] [[Oleg Kotov]] described the project's end:{{Blockquote|"We had no civilian tasks for ''Buran'' and the military ones were no longer needed."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20664-cosmonaut-soviet-space-shuttle-was-safer-than-nasas.html |title=Cosmonaut: Soviet space shuttle was safer than NASA's |date=7 July 2011 |author=Paul Marks |access-date=25 August 2017 |archive-date=20 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820094451/http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20664-cosmonaut-soviet-space-shuttle-was-safer-than-nasas.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

The programme was designed to boost national pride, carry out research, and meet technological objectives similar to those of the U.S. Space Shuttle program, including resupply of the [[Mir]] space station, which was launched in 1986 and remained in service until 2001. When Mir was [[STS-71|finally visited]] by a spaceplane, the visitor was a [[Space Shuttle orbiter]], not a Buran-class orbiter.

The Buran SO, a docking module that was to be used for rendezvous with the Mir space station, was refitted for use with the U.S. Space Shuttles during the [[Shuttle–Mir]] missions.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.astronautix.com/craft/mirodule.htm |title=Mir-Shuttle Docking Module |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Astronautica]] |first=Mark |last=Wade |access-date=16 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100108043835/http://astronautix.com/craft/mirodule.htm |archive-date=8 January 2010}}</ref>

The cost of a Buran launch carrying a 20-ton payload was estimated at 270 million roubles, vs 5.5 million roubles on the Proton rocket.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/buran.html|title=Buran reusable shuttle|website=www.russianspaceweb.com|access-date=1 June 2015|archive-date=15 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215094534/http://www.russianspaceweb.com/buran.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Baikonur hangar collapse ====
On 12 May 2002, a [[hangar]] roof at the [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]] in [[Kazakhstan]] collapsed because of a [[structural failure]] due to poor maintenance. The collapse killed eight workers and destroyed one of the Buran-class orbiters ([[Buran (spacecraft)|''Buran'', orbiter 1K]]), which flew the test flight in 1988, as well as a [[mock-up]] of an Energia booster rocket. It was not clear to outsiders at the time which orbiter was destroyed and the BBC reported that it was just "a model" of the orbiter.<ref name="buran-bbcColapse">{{cite news |last=Whitehouse |first=David |date=13 May 2002 |title=Russia's space dreams abandoned |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1985631.stm |url-status=live |access-date=14 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121211200/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1985631.stm |archive-date=21 November 2008}}</ref> It occurred at the ''MIK RN/MIK 112'' building at Site 112 of the [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]], 14 years after the [[Buran (spacecraft)#First flight|only Buran flight]]. Work on the roof had begun for a maintenance project, whose equipment is thought to have contributed to the collapse, together with heavy rainfall in the days preceding the collapse.{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007}}{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007|page=388}}

== List of vehicles ==
Five orbiters were planned to be built (designated 1K-5K, K stands for {{langx|ru|label=none|Корабль|lit=craft, flying article}}), with hull numbering starting with 1 or 2 (e.g. 1.01), two originally ordered in 1970s and three ("second series") additionally ordered in 1983.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

For research and testing purposes, several test articles were produced, designated 1M-8M (M stands for {{langx|ru|label=none|Макет|lit=mock-up}}), with hull numbering starting with 0 (e.g. 0.02). The programme prefix OK stands for {{langx|ru|label=none|Орбитальный Корабль|lit=Orbital Vehicle}} and carries the [[GRAU]] index number 11F35.

By 1991 two operational vehicles were delivered to Baikonur, three others were under construction at the Tushino Machine-Building Plant (TMZ) near Moscow.

Most of the geo-locations below show the orbiter bodies on the ground; in some cases [[Google Earth]]'s History facility is required to see the orbiter within the dates specified.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buran-energia.com/ |access-date=20 February 2015 |title=Buran-Energia |first=Vasili |last=Petrovitch |archive-date=5 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905161253/http://www.buran-energia.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/buran.html |access-date=20 February 2015 |title=Buran |first=Anatoliy |last=Zak |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215094534/http://www.russianspaceweb.com/buran.html |archive-date=15 February 2015}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! width="75px"|Name
! Function
! Location
! Image
! Geo-location
! Approximate dates
! Notes
|-
! colspan="7" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="background:#ffdead;"|Flight orbiters
|-
| rowspan="2" | '''[[Buran (spacecraft)|''Buran'']]'''<br />1K<br />1.01
| rowspan="2" | First flight article, first spaceplane series
| [[Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 110]]/37 (L) at [[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]]
| [http://www.thelivingmoon.com/41pegasus/04images/Russian/Shuttle/Buran_Launchpad_12.jpg] 1988<br />[[File:Antonov An-225 with Buran at Le Bourget 1989 Manteufel.jpg|150px]] 1989
| {{coord|45.96486|63.30496|name=Buran 1K 1.01 (15 November 1988)}} Spaceplane not visible; no available satellite photos
| 15 November 1988
| Built in 1986, only flightworthy orbiter. Launched on an uncrewed, remote controlled flight; two orbits and landing (with heavy crosswinds and a self-initiated approach direction change) at Yubileiniy (Jubilee) Airport, Baikonur.
|-
| MIK building, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
| [http://www.buran.ru/images/jpg/bbur90.jpg] 2002
| {{coord|45.92750|63.29761|name=Buran 1K 1.01 (1988 to 2002)}} Spaceplane not visible; shadows
| 1988 to 2002
| Housed in MIK building in area 112, Baikonur with an Energia booster mockup and other Energia hardware, destroyed in a roof collapse on 12 May 2002, which killed eight workers.
|-
| rowspan="2" | '''[[Ptichka|2K]]'''
''Ptichka''<br />1.02
| rowspan="2" | Second flight article, first series, 95–97% complete
| MIK building, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
| [http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/spacecraft/buran/ptichka2.jpg]
| {{coord|45.92836|63.29809|name=Ptichka 2K 1.02 (1988 to 1995)}} Shuttle not visible, in building
| 1988 to 1995
| Built in 1988, housed adjacent to ''Buran''.
|-
| MZK building 80, area 112a, Baikonur
| [https://www.vice.com/en/article/photographing-these-abandoned-space-shuttles-made-me-a-russian-target/] 2015<br />[[File:Изделие 1.02, фото 2 .jpg|150px]]2020
| {{coord|45.94046|63.31841|name=Ptichka 2K 1.02 (1995 to present)}} Spaceplane not visible; in building
| 1995 to present 
| Often erroneously referred to as "Ptichka" or "Burya".{{sfn|Hendrickx|Vis|2007|p=87}} Moved to the MZK in August 1995.<ref name="youtube.com">{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOYEg1fj95Q | title=Перегруз Бурана или последние дни 3 центра испытаний - YouTube | website=[[YouTube]] | date=10 March 2021 }}</ref> Reportedly property of Russian-Kazakh company ''Aelita'' since 2005.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Jacopo Prisco|title=Two abandoned Soviet space shuttles left in the Kazakh steppe|url=https://www.cnn.com/style/article/baikonur-buran-soviet-space-shuttle/index.html|access-date=2021-03-24|website=[[CNN]]|date=21 November 2017|language=en}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3" | '''[[2.01 (Buran-class spacecraft)|3K]]'''
''Baikal''<br />2.01
| rowspan="3" | First flight article, second series, 30–50% complete
| Inside Tushino Plant, Moscow, Russia
|
|
| 1991 to 2006
| Built 1991
|-
| Car park on Kimki Reservoir, near plant
| [http://www.thelivingmoon.com/41pegasus/04images/Russian/Buran_2_01/Buran2_01_01.jpg] 2007–2011
| {{coord|55.84136|37.46625|name=3K 2.01 (2006 to 2011)}}; use history
| 2006 to 2011
| Moved outdoors
|-
| Zhukovsky Airport, near Moscow, Russia
| [[File:Buran 2.01 2011 in Gromov Flight Research Institute.jpg|150px]] 2011
| on 15 August 2011 {{coord|55.57125|38.143|name=3K 2.01 (2011 to present)}}; use history
| 2011 to present
| An exhibit in the MAKS-2011 and later air shows. [[Zhukovsky International Airport]] is the site of the [[Gromov Flight Research Institute]], and has become a large outdoor flight museum. Other sightings:<br />on 15 March 2012: {{coord|55.56565|38.14491}},<br />on 31 July 2012 and 8 May 2013 {{coord|55.56309|38.14714}},<br />on 4 June and 29 July 2014 {{coord|55.55179|38.14463}},<br />on 11 September 2016 through 2020 {{coord|55.57125|38.143}}. As of December, 2021, it has been reportedly bought by Vadim Zadorozhny, in order to be restored and displayed in [[UMMC Museum Complex]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ria.ru/20211228/buran-1765917855.html|title=To restore the "Buran" will have to build a special hangar|date=28 December 2021 |access-date=29 December 2021}}</ref>
|-
| '''[[2.02 (Buran-class spacecraft)|4K]]'''<br />2.02<br />
| Second flight article, second series, 10–20% complete
| Tushino plant, Moscow, Russia
| [http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/spacecraft/buran/2.02-2.jpg]
|
| 1988 to present
| Build started 1988, Only forward fuselage with crew cabin was completed by the time its construction was cancelled. The right wing with landing gear produced for this orbiter was later used for [[OK-TVA]].<ref name="ru:ОК-ТВА">[[:ru:ОК-ТВА]]</ref> Some pieces of 2.02, like [[Space Shuttle thermal protection system|heat tiles]], have found their way onto eBay.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ebay.com/itm/SPACE-SHUTTLE-BURAN-HEAT-SHIELD-THERMAL-BLACK-TILE-EXCELLENT-CONDITION-/191516295906|title=Space shuttle Buran heat shield thermal black tile excellent condition|access-date=1 June 2015|archive-date=22 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222175723/http://www.ebay.com/itm/SPACE-SHUTTLE-BURAN-HEAT-SHIELD-THERMAL-BLACK-TILE-EXCELLENT-CONDITION-/191516295906|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| '''[[2.03 (Buran-class spacecraft)|5K]]'''<br />2.03
| Third flight article, second series, very small amount assembled
|
|
| Scattered
| 1988 to present
| Disassembled by 1995. All parts have been scattered and are unidentifiable.
|-
! colspan="7" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="background:#ffdead;"|Test articles
|-
| rowspan="2" | '''OK-M'''<br />OK-ML-1<br />BTS-001<br />1M<br />0.01
| rowspan="2" | Airframe and shake test bed article
| Outdoor pad, area 112, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
| [http://i0.wp.com/sometimes-interesting.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/abandoned-buran.jpg]
| {{coord|45.91963|63.30996|name=OK-M (1988 to January 2007)}}; use history
| 1988 to January 2007
| Built in 1982, deteriorated considerably outdoors on pad
|-
| Gagarin Museum, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
| [[File:Buran baikonur.jpg|150px]] 2007
| {{coord|45.90963|63.31789|name=OK-M (January 2007 to present)}}
| January 2007 to present
| Refurbished in 2007, now on outdoor display
|-
| rowspan="4" | '''[[OK-GLI]]'''<br />OK-ML-2<br />BTS-002<br />2M<br />0.02
| rowspan="4" | Atmospheric test article, two extra jet engines in rear to facilitate take-off
| Ramenskoye Airport, Moscow
|
| {{coord|55.5631|38.14716|name=OK-GLI (1999)}}; no history available this far back
| 1999
| Built in 1984, used in 25 test flights. On display at MAKS-1999, Russia's most prestigious airshow.
|-
| Darling Island, Sydney harbour, Australia
| [https://www.flickr.com/photos/ripienaar/111994359/in/album-72057594081299763/] 2000<br/>[[File:Buran Space Shuttle (5449959291).jpg|150px]] 2002
| {{coord|-33.86392|151.19662|name=OK-GLI (2000-2002)}}; use history to see shelter, shuttle not visible
| February 2000 to September 2000; afterwards stored on the site until about Oct 2002
| Sold and sent in February 2000 to the Sydney, Australia 2000 Olympic Games. Displayed inside a light structure, stored outdoors there afterwards.
|-
| Manama harbor, Bahrain
|
| {{coord|26.19826|50.60243|name=OK-GLI (July 2004 to 2007)}}; use history
| July 2004 to 2007
| Stored outdoors in [[Bahrain]] while the ownership of the spaceplane was legally contested.
|-
| Technik Museum, Speyer, Germany<ref>{{cite web |url=http://speyer.technik-museum.de/en/en/spaceshuttle-buran |title=Space Shuttle Buran |publisher=Technik Museum Speyer |access-date=2 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006115142/http://speyer.technik-museum.de/en/en/spaceshuttle-buran |archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref>
| [[File:OK-GLI Technik Museum Speyer 2008 12.JPG|150px]] 2008
| {{coord|49.31185|8.44628|name=OK-GLI (2008 to present)}}; shuttle not visible, in building
| 2008 to present
| Purchased from Roscosmos State Corporation when it won the legal battle, displayed indoors.
|-
| rowspan="3" | '''OK-KS'''<br />3M<br />0.03
| rowspan="3" | Electrical test article
| Checkout and Test Building (KIS), RKK Energia Plant, Korolev, Russia
| [https://web.archive.org/web/20110517055026/http://www.k26.com/buran/assets/images/aok-ks1.jpg]
| {{coord|55.92132|37.79929|name=OK-KS (2006 to 15 October 2012)}}; not visible, in building. This location shows a half-scale memorial of Energia and the Buran, perhaps meant to be replaced.
| 2006 to 15 October 2012
| Built in 1982, stored inside
|-
| Grounds of the RKK Energia plant
|
| {{coord|55.91685|37.79937|name=OK-KS (15 October 2012 to June 2017)}}
| 15 October 2012 to June 2017
| Stored outside by 15 October 2012, intended to be placed on permanent display.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/buran.html |access-date=22 February 2015 |first=Anatoly |last=Zak |publisher=Russian Space Web |title=Buran reusable shuttle |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215094534/http://www.russianspaceweb.com/buran.html |archive-date=15 February 2015}} See the last line of the chronology.</ref>
|-
| Sirius Science Center, Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia
| [[File:Буран БТС-003 Сочи 27102018.jpg|150px]] 2018
| {{coord|43.414442|39.949115|name=OK-KS (June 2017 to current)}}
| June 2017 to current
| On permanent outdoor display at the Sirius Science Center in Sochi, Russia.<ref name="tass20170616">{{cite news |url=http://tass.ru/kosmos/4342852 |title=Космический корабль "Буран" установят в детском центре в Сочи |work=TASS.ru |language=ru |date=16 June 2017 |access-date=21 June 2017 |archive-date=20 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620005730/http://tass.ru/kosmos/4342852 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BuranSochi">{{cite web |url=https://www.ruaviation.com/news/2017/6/29/9092/?h |title=Mockup of the legendary Buran orbiter is being readied for shipment to Sirius educational center |date=29 June 2017 |publisher=Russian Aviation |access-date=24 January 2019 }}</ref>
|-
| '''OK-MT'''<br />4M<br />0.04
| Engineering mockup
| MZK building, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
|  [https://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/16117/46616872.dc/0_cbbff_6c5b945d_orig.jpg] 2014<br/>[[File:Изделие 0.15.jpg|150px]] 2020
| {{coord|45.94046|63.31841|name=OK-MT}}; vehicle not visible, in building
| 1988 to present
| Built in 1983. Moved to the MZK in August 1995.<ref name="youtube.com"/>
|-
| '''5M'''<br />0.05
| Environmental test parts from forward fuselage
|
|
| Unknown
| 1988 to present
| Destroyed, parts used for [[OK-TVA]].<ref name="ru:ОК-ТВА"/>
|-
| '''OK-TVI'''<br />6M<br />0.06
| Environmental test article
| NIIKhimMash rocket test area, near Moscow, Russia
| [http://www.buran.fr/bourane-buran/img/ok-tvi1-petit.jpg]
| 
| 1988 to present
| 
|-
| rowspan="2" | '''OK-TVA'''<br />7M<br />0.15
| rowspan="2" | Structural test article
| Gorky Park, Moscow, Russia
| [[File:Moscow Gorky Park View from Frunzenskaya Embankment 05.jpg|150px]] 2010
| {{coord|55.72876|37.59688|name=OK-TVA (1995 to July 2014)}}; use history
| 1995 to July 2014
| Served as an attraction, a small restaurant, and bicycle storage, as part of the now-defunct amusement park at that site.
|-
| Outside Pavilion 20 about 250 meters south of the [[Vostok (spacecraft)|Vostok rocket]], [[VDNKh (Russia)|VDNKh]]/VVT (All-Russia Exhibition Center)
| [[File:Buran OK-TVA VDNKh.JPG|150px]] 2014
| {{coord|55.83219|37.62291|name=OK-TVA (July 2014 to present)}}; use history
| July 2014 to present
| Moved to VDNKh on 5 July 2014, assembled by 21 July.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2010/09/abandoned-russian-space-shuttle-2 |title=Buran: The Abandoned Russian Space Shuttle |publisher=Urban Ghost Media |date=30 September 2010 |access-date=21 August 2012 |archive-date=23 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823004909/http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2010/09/abandoned-russian-space-shuttle-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buran-energia.com/bourane-buran/bourane-modele-tva-transport.php |title=Transportation of the shuttle to the VDNKh park |website=Buran-Energia.com |access-date=21 June 2017 |archive-date=14 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714014247/http://www.buran-energia.com/bourane-buran/bourane-modele-tva-transport.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The shuttle acquisition is part of the VDNKh refurbishment.
|-
| '''8M'''<br />0.08
| Components used for static thermal and vacuum tests
| Outdoor display at Clinical Hospital No. 83 FMBA on Orekhovy Boulevard in Moscow
| [[File:Buran 8M front view.JPG|150px]] 2012
| {{coord|55.618|37.76448|name=8M (from 24 April 2011 to present)}}
| from 24 April 2011 to present
|
|-
| Unnamed
| Wooden wind tunnel model, 1/3 scale
| Ramenskoye Airport, near Moscow, Russia, photographed in 2013
| [[File:It_no_longer_exists._Wind_tunnel_wooden_model_1_3_scale_of_Buran_is_at_the_far_corner_of_Zhukovsky_airfield._(11137924623).jpg|150px]] 2013<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/33104187@N04/sets/72157638216331125/ |first=Aleksander |last=Makin |title=It no longer exists. Wind tunnel wooden model 1:3 scale model of Buran is at the corner of Zhukovsky airfield |date=11 October 2013 |access-date=24 January 2019 |archive-date=19 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919080435/http://www.flickr.com/photos/33104187@N04/sets/72157638216331125 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|
| up to 2013
| Has been destroyed in or after 2013. Photographed at [[Zhukovsky International Airport]] by Aleksander Makin.
|}

=== Related test vehicles and models ===
{| class="wikitable"
! width="75px"|Name
! Function
! Image
! Construction date
! Current status<ref name="status">{{cite web |url=http://www.k26.com/buran/Future/energia_-_buran_-_where_are_th.html |title=Energia-Buran: Where are they now |work=K26.com |access-date=5 August 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060519134511/http://www.k26.com/buran/Future/energia_-_buran_-_where_are_th.html |archive-date=19 May 2006}}</ref>
|-
| [[BOR-4]] || Sub-scale model of the [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-105|Spiral]] space plane || [[File:BOR-4S.jpg|150px]] || 1982–1984 || 1:2 scale model of Spiral space plane. 5 launches. NPO Molniya, Moscow.
|-
| [[BOR-5]] ("Kosmos") || Suborbital test of 1/8 scale model of Buran || [[File:Bor-(5).jpg|150px]] || 1983–1988 || 5 launches, none were reflown but at least 4 were recovered. NPO Molniya, Moscow.
|-
| Wind tunnel models || Scales from 1:3 to 1:550 || || || 85 models built; see unnamed test article in table above.
|-
| Gas dynamics models || Scales from 1:15 to 1:2700 || || || 
|}

== Revival possibilities ==
{{Main|Yenisei (rocket)}}
{{Further|Irtysh (rocket)|RD-170#RD-171MV}}
Over time, several scientists looked into trying to revive the Buran programme, especially after the [[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster]].<ref name="baltimoresun">{{cite news |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/bal-te.russia05feb05,0,4512690,full.story |title=Russian space programme is handed new responsibility |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |first=Douglas |last=Birch |date=5 February 2003 |access-date=17 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203022532/http://www.baltimoresun.com/bal-te.russia05feb05,0,4512690,full.story |archive-date=3 December 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The 2003 grounding of the U.S. [[Space Shuttle]]s caused many to wonder whether the [[Energia (rocket)|Energia]] launcher or Buran shuttle could be brought back into service.<ref name=NBC-2005-Oberg/> By then, however, all of the equipment for both (including the vehicles themselves) had fallen into disrepair or been repurposed after falling into disuse with the collapse of the [[Soviet Union]].

In 2010 the director of Moscow's Central Machine Building Institute said the Buran programme would be reviewed in the hope of restarting a similar crewed spacecraft design, with rocket test launches as soon as 2015.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_To_Review_Its_Space_Shuttle_Project_999.html |title=Russia To Review Its Space Shuttle Project |work=Xinhua |via=Space Daily |date=28 June 2010 |access-date=28 July 2010 |archive-date=9 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009143011/http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_To_Review_Its_Space_Shuttle_Project_999.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Russia also continues work on the [[Prospective Piloted Transport System|PPTS]] but has abandoned the [[Kliper]] program, due to differences in vision with its European partners.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://current.com/items/89670174/soviet_space_shuttle_could_bail_out_nasa.htm |title=Soviet space shuttle could bail out NASA |publisher=Current.com |date=31 December 2008 |access-date=15 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708030226/http://current.com/items/89670174/soviet_space_shuttle_could_bail_out_nasa.htm |archive-date=8 July 2012}}</ref>

Due to the [[Space Shuttle retirement|2011 retirement of the American Space Shuttle]] and the need for STS-type craft in the meantime to complete the International Space Station, some American and Russian scientists had been mulling over plans to possibly revive the already-existing Buran shuttles in the Buran programme rather than spend money on an entirely new craft and wait for it to be fully developed<ref name="baltimoresun" /><ref name=NBC-2005-Oberg>{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8148275/page/3/ |title=Russia ready to take lead on space station |work=NBC News |first=James |last=Oberg |date=10 June 2005 |access-date=16 July 2009 |archive-date=20 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020100003/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8148275/page/3/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> but the plans did not come to fruition.

On the 25th anniversary of the Buran flight in November 2013, [[Oleg Ostapenko]], the new head of [[Roscosmos]], the Russian Federal Space Agency, proposed that a new [[heavy-lift launch vehicle]] be built for the Russian space programme. The rocket would be intended to place a payload of {{convert|100|tonne|lb}} in a baseline [[low Earth orbit]] and is projected to be based on the [[Angara (rocket family)|Angara]] launch vehicle technology.<ref name=sd20131119a>{{cite news |title=Russia starts ambitious super-heavy space rocket project |url=http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_starts_ambitious_super_heavy_space_rocket_project_999.html |access-date=13 December 2013 |newspaper=Space Daily |date=19 November 2013 |archive-date=22 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131222193309/http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_starts_ambitious_super_heavy_space_rocket_project_999.html |url-status=live }}</ref><!-- some of these claims are rather stunning, so am including an extended quotation so we don't lose these down the memory hole if that media source subsequently goes offline.  N2e 13 December 2013  -->

== Vehicles ==

=== Energia launch vehicle ===
{{Main|Energia (rocket)}}
{{Excerpt|Energia (rocket)|hat=no|templates=-no orbit for payload}}

=== Buran orbiter ===
{{Main|Buran (spacecraft)}}
{{Excerpt|Buran (spacecraft)|hat=no}}

=== Antonov An-225 Mriya ===
{{Excerpt|Antonov An-225 Mriya}}

=== Energia liquid rocket booster ===
{{Excerpt|Zenit (rocket family)}}

== Energia-Buran and the US Space Shuttle ==
[[File:Soyuz, Space Shuttle, Buran comparison.svg|thumb|Comparison between Soyuz, Space Shuttle, and Energia-Buran]]
[[File:Gateway to space 2016, Budapest, Buran - Russian reusable space plane (model) 2.jpg|thumb|Comparison to Space Shuttle]]

=== Comparison to NASA's Space Shuttle ===
Because Buran{{'s}} debut followed that of {{OV|102}}{{'s}}, and because there were striking visual similarities between the two shuttle systems—a state of affairs which recalled the similarity between the [[Tupolev Tu-144]] and [[Concorde]] supersonic airliners—many speculated that [[Cold War espionage]] played a role in the development of the Soviet shuttle. Despite remarkable external similarities, many key differences existed, which suggests that, had espionage been a factor in Buran{{'s}} development, it would likely have been in the form of external photography or early airframe designs. NASA Administrator [[James C. Fletcher]] stated that Buran was based on a rejected NASA design.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/96unclass/farewell.htm |title=The Farewell Dossier: Duping the Soviets – A Deception Operation |journal=Studies in Intelligence |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |first=Gus W. |last=Weiss |volume=39 |issue=5 |year=1996 |access-date=8 August 2012 |archive-date=27 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191027171324/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/96unclass/farewell.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> See the {{section link||Program development}} section above.

=== Key differences between Energia-Buran system and NASA's Space Shuttle ===
* Unlike the Space Shuttle's boosters, each of Energia's four boosters had their own guidance, navigation, and control system.<ref>{{cite web |title=Первая ступень ракеты-носителя "Энергия" |url=https://www.buran.ru/htm/firststg.htm |website=Буран.ру |access-date=15 July 2022}}</ref> Known as [[Zenit-2]], they were used as launch vehicles on their own to deliver smaller payloads than those requiring the complete Energia-Buran system. Space Shuttle boosters each had their own guidance and control system, but all navigation functions were centrally located in the shuttle orbiter; the autonomous guidance functions of the boosters were therefore more limited, primarily oriented to safe separation from the external tank and orbiter during staging after booster fuel exhaustion.
* Energia could be configured with four, two or no boosters for payloads other than Buran, and in full configuration was able to put up to 100 metric tons into orbit.<ref name="Energia (rocket) EnergiaOffSite">{{cite web |title=Launch vehicle Energia |url=http://www.energia.ru/english/energia/launchers/vehicle_energia.html |website=RSC Energia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627225723/http://www.energia.ru/english/energia/launchers/vehicle_energia.html |archive-date=27 June 2021 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Space Shuttle orbiter]] was integral to its launch system and was the system's only payload.
* Energia's four [[Zenit (rocket family)#Energia booster|boosters]] used [[Liquid rocket propellant|liquid propellant]] ([[kerosene]]/[[oxygen]]). The Space Shuttle's two boosters used solid propellant.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/system_SRB.html |title=Space Shuttle: Solid Rocket Boosters |work=NASA.gov |access-date=16 October 2010 |archive-date=6 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406193019/http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/system_SRB.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The liquid fueled booster rockets were not constructed in segments vulnerable to leakage through O-rings, which caused the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|destruction]] of{{OV|099|full=no}}.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Demir |first=Banu |last2=Cecilia Fieler |first2=Ana |last3=Yi Xu |first3=Daniel |last4=Kaili Yang |first4=Kelly |date=November 15, 2023 |title=O-Ring Production Networks |url=https://www.nber.org/papers/w28433 |journal=Journal of Political Economy |volume=132 |issue=1 |pages=200-247 |via=Chicago Journals}}</ref>
* Energia's four boosters were designed to be recovered after each flight,<ref name="gubanov98triumph" />{{Disputed inline|talk=Talk:Buran (spacecraft)#Factual Errors|date=August 2024}} though they were not recovered during Energia's two operational flights. The Space Shuttle's boosters were recovered and reused.
*Buran{{'s}} equivalent of the [[Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System]] used GOX/LOX/Kerosene propellant, with lower toxicity and higher performance (a [[specific impulse]] of {{convert|362|isp}} using a [[turbopump]] system)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buran.ru/htm/odu.htm |title=Объединенная двигательная установка (ОДУ) |trans-title=Joint Propulsion System (JPS) |work=Buran.ru |first=Vadim |last=Lukashevich |access-date=21 November 2013 |archive-date=20 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131120000003/http://www.buran.ru/htm/odu.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> than the Shuttle's pressure-fed [[monomethylhydrazine]]/[[dinitrogen tetroxide]] OMS engines.
*Buran was designed to be capable of both [[human spaceflight|piloted]] and fully [[Robotic spacecraft|autonomous]] flight, including landing. The Space Shuttle was later retrofitted with [[Remote Control Orbiter|remote control functions]] extending its existing crewed automated landing capability to enable uncrewed landings, first flown 18 years after the Buran on [[STS-121]], but the system was intended to be used only in contingencies.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.space.com/2560-shuttle-carry-tools-repair-remote-control-landing.html |title=Shuttle to Carry Tools for Repair and Remote-Control Landing |work=Space.com |first=Tariq |last=Malik |date=29 June 2006 |access-date=29 November 2013 |archive-date=8 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308050155/http://www.space.com/2560-shuttle-carry-tools-repair-remote-control-landing.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The nose landing gear was located much farther back on the fuselage rather than just under the mid-deck as with the NASA Space Shuttle.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}
*Buran was designed to lift 30 metric tons into orbit in its standard configuration, comparable to the early Space Shuttle's original 27.8 metric tons.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/shuttle.htm |title=Shuttle |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Astronautica]] |first=Mark |last=Wade |access-date=20 September 2010 |archive-date=13 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313084624/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/shuttle.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=Aerospace>{{cite web |url=http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/spacecraft/q0153.shtml |title=Soviet Buran Space Shuttle |work=Aerospaceweb.org |first=Jeff |last=Scott |date=5 February 2007 |access-date=16 October 2004 |archive-date=7 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061207020133/http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/spacecraft/q0153.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Disputed inline|talk=Talk:Buran (spacecraft)#Factual Errors|date=August 2024}}
*Buran could return 20 tons from orbit,<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.buran.ru/htm/molniya5.htm|title=Buran Orbiter|access-date=29 November 2020|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109025405/http://www.buran.ru/htm/molniya5.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/b/buran.html|title=Buran|website=www.astronautix.com|access-date=28 June 2019|archive-date=2 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702165618/http://www.astronautix.com/b/buran.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> vs the Space Shuttle's 15 tons.
*Buran included a [[drag chute]];<ref name="buranrulandinggear">{{cite web |title=Шасси (посадочные устройства) орбитального корабля "Буран" (11Ф35) |trans-title=Buran landing gear |url=https://www.buran.ru/htm/lan_gear.htm |website=Buran.ru |access-date=15 July 2022 |language=ru}}</ref> the Space Shuttle originally did not, but was later retrofitted to include one.
* The [[lift-to-drag ratio]] of Buran is cited as 5.6,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1256536142 |title=Mirovai︠a︡ pilotiruemai︠a︡ kosmonavtika : istorii︠a︡, tekhnika, li︠u︡di |date=2005 |publisher=RTSoft |first1=I︠U︡. M.|last1= Baturin|first2= I. B.|last2= Afanasʹev |isbn=5990027125 |location=Moskva |oclc=1256536142}}</ref> compared to a subsonic L/D of 4.5 for the Space Shuttle.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19850008580 |title=Space Shuttle Technical Conference, Part 1 |publisher=NASA |editor-first=Norman |editor-last=Chaffee |page=258 |year=1985 |id=N85-16889 |access-date=7 July 2017 |archive-date=9 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109152820/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19850008580 |url-status=live }}</ref>
*Buran and Energia were moved to the launch pad horizontally on a rail transporter, and then erected and fueled at the launch site.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://englishrussia.com/2006/09/14/buran-the-first-russian-shuttle/ |title=Buran, the First Russian Shuttle |work=[[EnglishRussia.com]] |date=14 September 2006 |access-date=21 August 2012 |archive-date=23 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823051920/http://englishrussia.com/2006/09/14/buran-the-first-russian-shuttle/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://chapters.marssociety.org/winnipeg/russian.html |title=Russian rockets |work=The Mars Society |access-date=21 August 2012 |archive-date=20 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920030444/http://chapters.marssociety.org/winnipeg/russian.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2011/01/6-abandoned-megamachines/ |title=6 Abandoned Mega-Machines: Jumbo Jets, Space Shuttle Transporters & More |work=Urban Ghosts |date=26 January 2011 |access-date=21 August 2012 |archive-date=24 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120824170320/http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2011/01/6-abandoned-megamachines/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Space Shuttle was transported vertically on the [[crawler-transporter]] with loaded solid boosters but the main tank was fueled at launch site.<ref name=diesel-power>{{cite journal |url=http://www.dieselpowermag.com/features/trucks/0705dp_nasa_diesel_shuttle_crawler/viewall.html |title=NASA Diesel-Powered Shuttle Hauler – The Crawler |journal=[[Diesel Power (magazine)|Diesel Power]] |first=Jason |last=Sands |date=May 2007 |access-date=21 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106000519/http://www.dieselpowermag.com/features/trucks/0705dp_nasa_diesel_shuttle_crawler/viewall.html |archive-date=6 November 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
*Buran was intended to carry a crew of up to ten. The Shuttle carried up to eight in the largest crewed mission, normally carried between five and seven people in most missions,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wilson |first=Jim |title=NASA - Shuttle Basics |url=https://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/system_STS_prt.htm |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=www.nasa.gov |language=en}}</ref> and could have carried up to eleven in an emergency (such as in the unlaunched [[STS-400]] rescue mission).<ref name=Aerospace/><ref name="Contingency Shuttle Crew Support">{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/153444main_CSCS_Resource_%20Book.pdf |title=Contingency Shuttle Crew Support (CSCS)/Rescue Flight Resource Book |publisher=NASA |first1=Anthony J. |last1=Ceccacci |first2=Paul F. |last2=Dye |date=12 July 2005 |access-date=9 September 2014 |archive-date=1 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301211546/http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/153444main_CSCS_Resource_%20Book.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
*Buran has a different thermal protection tile layout on its underside,<ref name="auto1"/> in which all gaps between heat tiles are parallel or perpendicular to the direction of airflow around the orbiter.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.buran.ru/htm/raskroy.htm|title=Раскрой плиток|website=www.buran.ru|access-date=29 November 2020|archive-date=30 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200430124809/http://www.buran.ru/htm/raskroy.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Soviet Union|Spaceflight}}

* [[MAKS (spacecraft)]] - Soviet air-launched spaceplane concept
* [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-105]] – Soviet spaceplane test programme
* [[Space Shuttle program]] - American spaceplane
* [[Tupolev OOS]] - Soviet air-launched spaceplane concept

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
*{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/energiyaburansov00hend_694 |title=Energiya-Buran: The Soviet Space Shuttle |publisher=Springer-Praxis |first1=Bart |last1=Hendrickx |first2=Bert |last2=Vis |name-list-style=amp |date=4 October 2007 |isbn=978-0-387-69848-9 |doi=10.1007/978-0-387-73984-7 |url-access=limited}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Buran program}}
* [https://www.buran.ru/htm/molniya.htm Buran.ru], official website by [[NPO Molniya]]
* [https://www.buran.ru/htm/homepage.htm Buran.ru] unofficial space encyclopedia (ru)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160820170842/http://www.astronautix.com/b/buran.html Buran] at ''[[Encyclopedia Astronautica]]''
* [http://www.buran-energia.com/ Buran and Energia] at Buran-Energia.com
* [http://www.russianspaceweb.com/buran.html Buran] at RussianSpaceWeb.com
* [https://buran.tass.com/ ''Buran: The Soviet Space Shuttle Success Story''] at [[TASS]] {{in lang|en}}

{{Buran program}}
{{Buran pilot test groups}}
{{Space Shuttles}}
{{Myasishchev}}
{{USAF/DoD reporting names}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buran Program}}
[[Category:Buran program| ]]
[[Category:1974 establishments in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:1993 disestablishments in Russia]]
[[Category:Crewed spacecraft]]
[[Category:Myasishchev aircraft]]
[[Category:Partially reusable space launch vehicles]]
[[Category:Rocket-powered aircraft]]
[[Category:Spaceplanes]]