The Ruins of the Soviet Space Shuttles

Russian photographer, Ralph Mirebs, managed to get inside an abandoned hangar at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, where two Buran space shuttles of the Soviet space program have been left to slowly decay
The Orbiters

This is not the Buran itself, but rather the Orbiter K2 Ptichka and a full scale mockup for structural testing purposes. The original Buran, the only shuttle of the program to actually fly in space, was tragically destroyed in 2002 when the roof of its hangar collapsed.






The following link is in Russian

I can't help but to feel a sens of sadness when looking at these pics .

So many Questions come to mind Like Why ?,Why would they just up and abandon the program ?
What did they know ? was it just a financial thing ?

The Orbiters looked amazing to me .

All that thought , Money ,engineering, gone ....


Maybe we and piece this Puzzle together ATS and figure out "why"

Kap.

a reply to: Kapusta

Money has been the bane of all space programs. Need more somewhere else? Cut the space program, no one will care. And the sad part is that no one even notices except the ones with an avid interest. Hell, by the end of the shuttle program, you couldn't even find the launches and landings on television, except the last couple seconds of them, and then only if other news didn't preempt them.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Kapusta

Money has been the bane of all space programs. Need more somewhere else? Cut the space program, no one will care. And the sad part is that no one even notices except the ones with an avid interest. Hell, by the end of the shuttle program, you couldn't even find the launches and landings on television, except the last couple seconds of them, and then only if other news didn't preempt them.

True words Zap , The only place to really find full coverage was on the NASA Channel .

So many Questions come to mind Like Why ?,Why would they just up and abandon the program ? Maybe we and piece this Puzzle together ATS and figure out "why"

...well, why go on?

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Kapusta

Money has been the bane of all space programs. Need more somewhere else? Cut the space program, no one will care. And the sad part is that no one even notices except the ones with an avid interest.

This.

I've often said, if we spent only half as much on space exploration as we spent on wars we'd be halfway to Alpha Centauri right now.

If anyone wants to keep up on what's going on in space I recommend some of my favorite podcasts which you can find on iTunes

365 Days of Astronomy - A new space or astronomy podcast every day

Space Boffins - Wonderful space exploration podcast on all things NASA, ESA, JAXA etc with a unique perspective from the UK.

Weekly Space Hangout - Hosted by Fraser Cain of AstronomyCast and UniverseToday this covers space exploration and astronomy.

AstronomyCast - A highly educational astronomy podcast explaining complex concepts in layman's terms and telling you how we know what we know.

Alice's Astro Info - For amateur astronomers

Awesome Astronomy - Another very good UK based podcast

Starstuff - A great Australian based space exploration and astronomy podcast which is highly detailed and has audio of countdowns for just about every launch.

a reply to: Kapusta

These pics are great but folks should click the link for a boat load of pics...thanks OP

They should have at least moved them. It's a shame to see them rotting in an abandoned hanger.

The end of the Space Shuttle era, the decommissioning of the Concord...we live in mouldering times. A global empire is crumbling, and no one seems to care.

a reply to: Kapusta
Why? Simple. The space program has become for many countries a political campaign. It's a battle of who can do it soonest and cost effectively. Whoever wins gains political favor across the world.

Sadly, that's what the space program is deemed to be in a lot of people's minds: Useless. A self-fullfilling prophecy.

But it's not altogether useless. A LOT has come out of it. The actual brains and brawns will persevere. It will not go to waste. Even as people were disregarding it, the fruits of its labours were impacting life on Earth and not quite imperceptibly. Its influence has grown.

IMHO we just a good reason. We're almost there. I think eventually space will be as necessary as are the oceans to the health of civilization. The technology and the know how are so close it's like yesterday.

When people vacationing in exotic motels in Earth orbit or travelling there on business then you know it has happened.

That will be the beginning of the true and enduring space age which was talked about years ago but never really happened, since the technology and relevance of space to daily life wasn't there yet.

I give us about 100 years to reach that stage. Access to space must be cheaper. And the research must yield more fruits. But like jack and the beanstalk, the long climb eventually pays off. It's not without risk.

According to a calculated estimate which forecasted our ability to produce energy (1), it put us at 200+ years to develop practical interstellar travel. Given that's a good distance away, I think 100 years to make earth orbit and the moon and possibly mars a normal part of business is a reasonable expectation. For all I know, it could 50 or 150 or more years, though. And who's to say it must be earth orbit or the moon or mars? Maybe not. But I would expect us to stay somewhat close to home at first.

(1) - www.technologyreview.com - Interstellar Travel Not Possible Before 2200AD, Suggests Study...

How many orbiters did they have? In the embedded photos, I see two parked in the bay sitting nose to tail. At the link, however, I see an orbiter sitting on its external tank and SRBs. Perhaps that's an old file photo and not current?

Wonder if they'd sell one? I have just the spot for it in the back field.

Oh, and just to stir it up - In one of the interior shots I think i see one of the metal ball thingies that washed up on the beach shortly after the disappearance of MH370. Mystery solved? Heh.

originally posted by: Tripnman
How many orbiters did they have? In the embedded photos, I see two parked in the bay sitting nose to tail. At the link, however, I see an orbiter sitting on its external tank and SRBs. Perhaps that's an old file photo and not current?

That was the only space-worthy Buran that flew the only orbital test of the entire program. It was restacked (all Soviet rockets were assembled horizontally and elevated to vertical at the launch pad) and stored in Building 112 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome (this was the old N-1 moon rocket assembly building, re-purposed for the Buran program).

After the fall of the USSR, the site fell into disrepair. The roof collapsed in 2002, crushing the greatest technological achievement of the Soviet rocket program.

Here is a good history of Buran - and its fate: Link

a reply to: Kapusta

They just seem to abandon everything and leave them to rot. They don't repurpose or just plain old demolish and deconstruct things?

Reminds of a kid that got bored with his toys and left them where he was done playing. Very odd.

originally posted by: AshOnMyTomatoes
The end of the Space Shuttle era, the decommissioning of the Concord...we live in mouldering times. A global empire is crumbling, and no one seems to care.

They're making new, better things to take their place as we speak.

originally posted by: Bilk22
a reply to: Kapusta

They just seem to abandon everything and leave them to rot. They don't repurpose or just plain old demolish and deconstruct things?

Reminds of a kid that got bored with his toys and left them where he was done playing. Very odd.

RIght now the Russian space program is in decline. This is the least of their worries. They have rockets constantly malfunctioning and an ever shrinking budget.

I do not consider it a total failure since this was the "By-product" the Antonov An-225 Mriya.

en.wikipedia.org...

a reply to: JadeStar

Russian space program in decline ?

You do know United States relies solely on Russian space program for its needs.

I guess people don't read news.

a reply to: RubberSky

Since when is SpaceX a Russian company

Falcon 9 made history in 2012 when it delivered Dragon into the correct orbit for rendezvous with the International Space Station, making SpaceX the first commercial company ever to visit the station. Since then SpaceX has made a total of seven flights to the space station, both delivering and returning cargo for NASA. Falcon 9, along with the Dragon spacecraft, was designed from the outset to deliver humans into space and under an agreement with NASA, SpaceX is actively working toward that goal.

www.spacex.com...

Now ofcourse this does not mean Russia does not deserves credits for their space program and their achievements , they played a huge part in the Space industry , they put the first man in space , laika, Mir , amazing achievements.

I would LOVE to clean up, re wire, rebuild, and reequip one of these.

Such a loss and waste.
But.. wait till you see what we do next...................

a reply to: RubberSky

The US relies on Russia for delivering people to orbit, not for their space needs. They have the Atlas, and other programs that are launching satellites and supplies to the ISS, as well as the COTS program that's coming along nicely.