Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!samsung!uunet!world!ksr!clj@ksr.com
From: clj@ksr.com (Chris Jones)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: Buran
Message-ID: <787@ksr.com>
Date: 5 Sep 90 13:58:48 GMT
References: <213.26e406d5@vaxa.strath.ac.uk>
Sender: news@ksr.com
Reply-To: clj@ksr.com (Chris Jones)
Organization: Kendall Square Research Corp
Lines: 28
In-reply-to: cadp17@vaxa.strath.ac.uk (G.M.T.)

In article <213.26e406d5@vaxa.strath.ac.uk>, cadp17@vaxa (G.M.T.) writes:
>
>	Does anybody have any information regarding the Soviet's
>	shuttle Buran?
>
>	Haven't heard a thing about it since that one unmanned
>	test flight.....
>

Buran, the first Soviet shuttle (to distinguish it from Buran, the entire
shuttle project) will most likely only make that one flight.  The Soviets have
announced that they have two more shuttles under construction, and expect to
fly one sometime in 1991, which will also be the next launch of the Energia.
They will launch it unmanned, and it's supposed to dock with Mir, whose Kristal
add-on module has a docking port to accommodate a shuttle.  They are thinking
about having a crew transfer to it for landing.

Another possible use for their shuttle they are considering is to have it
retrieve Salyut 7, which is still in orbit, though unused since 1986.

Like the US shuttle, the Soviet shuttle has aroused some controversy within the
Soviet space community.  Sagdeev, for one, thinks it's a waste of money and the
other Soviet boosters are more cost effective.  I've heard it said that the
Soviet military was so convinced of the military potential of our shuttle they
wanted one too.

--
Chris Jones    clj@ksr.com    {world,uunet,harvard}!ksr!clj