The Buran spacecraft was the Soviet Union's response to NASA's space shuttle program. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. The Buran ...

The Buran did fly in space – just once, in November 1988, not long before the Soviet Union collapsed. Its lone mission was uncrewed. The Buran relied on an automated launch sequence, rode on an ...

The “Soviet shuttle” project almost made the country bankrupt. Its cost was so high that an entire city for 10 million residents could have been built instead. Thirty years ago, on 15 November 1988, ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Just before dawn on the morning of November 15, 1988, the Energiya ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. A full-size mockup of a Russian space shuttle is leaving Moscow for an exhibition center opening ...

Why was the Soviet shuttle's triumphant launch its first and last? And is there any hope that a Russian shuttle might at some point head for the stars? The Buran’s flight, which lasted 205 minutes, ...

Here’s What You Need to Know: The Buran program was judged a success and would likely have continued had the Cold War carried on. Unfortunately, it suffered from poor timing: the Soviet Union had ...

A quarter-century ago, it seemed like the space shuttle suddenly got a new sibling. On Nov. 15, 1988, the Buran reusable orbiter, the crowning achievement of the Soviet space program, made its first ...

In the 1980s, a little-known chapter in the space race took place when the Soviet Union attempted to build their own version of Nasa’s Space Shuttle. But despite a successful unmanned orbital test ...

The Soviet Buran orbiter program was initiated in 1976 as a strategic response to concerns regarding potential military applications of the American space shuttle ...

MOSCOW, November 15. /TASS/. November 15, 2018 marks 30 years since the Buran reusable spacecraft performed its first and sole flight. The Buran was part of the Energia-Buran reusable space system. It ...