Baikonur -- maintenance on outdoor 'Buran'

Baikonur -- maintenance on outdoor 'Buran'

See the CUBESAT home page,
interesting photo of maintenance on
exterior of the outside-parked
Buran. What's that new metal building
on the right -- I don't remember anything
that close from my last visit?

http://cubesat.atl.calpoly.edu/pages...r-launch-2.php

I got a wonderful answer to my emailed query (below) about an odd 'Buran'
photo from Baykonur. Turns out, the 'Buran' inside bldg 254 (which I've
always been told was a flight vehicle, not a mockup -- true?) has been moved
out and parked by the museum building. There are great photos of the road
transport past snow-covered steppes, in the second link.



On Mar 26, 2007, at 11:33 PM, Jim Oberg wrote: See the CUBESAT home page,
interesting photo of maintenance on exterior of the outside-parked Buran.
What's that new metal building on the right -- I don't remember anything
that close from my last visit?
http://cubesat.atl.calpoly.edu/pages...r-launch-2.php


Subject: [FPSPACE] Baikonur -- maintenance on outdoor 'Buran'
From: "David Anderman" Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 9:18
AM

Jim: This mockup was moved to a museum at Baikonur at few weeks ago:
http://www.buran-energia.com/blog/20.../lang-pref/en/
-----------

Text: from that site -- OK-M

The test shuttle OK-M was moved few days ago from the area 254, to be
parked near the Baikonur's museum (area 2). May be it will be restaured or
stocked in better conditions.

Numerous projects were studied to use this mock-up and emphasize the
heritage which it represents, but all failed because they required too
important investments. In the second half of January the authorities, under
the management of the first assistant Tomchuka V. R. of ??? of Baikonur,
finally decided to move the mock-up towards the Baikonur's museum because it
is the cheapest solution. The outside of the shuttle will be restored, a
cabin with cosmonauts' seats will be installed there and a showroom will be
fitted out in the payload bay. It is a second life for this shuttle which
takes place at the time of the twentieth anniversary of the Energia's first
launch (in May 17th, 1987).



Hi-res of road transport:

http://www.buran-energia.com/blog/wp...3/p1250964.JPG

Jim Oberg wrote:
I got a wonderful answer to my emailed query (below) about an odd 'Buran'
photo from Baykonur. Turns out, the 'Buran' inside bldg 254 (which I've
always been told was a flight vehicle, not a mockup -- true?)


Here's data on OK-M:
http://www.k26.com/buran/Future/OK-M..._ok-ml-1_.html
From this page, with details on all the Buran shuttles fates:
http://www.k26.com/buran/Future/ener...re_are_th.html

Pat

On Mar 27, 7:33 am, "Jim Oberg" wrote:
I got a wonderful answer to my emailed query (below) about an odd 'Buran'
photo from Baykonur. Turns out, the 'Buran' inside bldg 254 (which I've
always been told was a flight vehicle, not a mockup -- true?) has been moved
out and parked by the museum building. There are great photos of the road
transport past snow-covered steppes, in the second link.

On Mar 26, 2007, at 11:33 PM, Jim Oberg wrote: See the CUBESAT home page,
interesting photo of maintenance on exterior of the outside-parked Buran.
What's that new metal building on the right -- I don't remember anything
that close from my last visit?http://cubesat.atl.calpoly.edu/pages...r-launch-2.php

Subject: [FPSPACE] Baikonur -- maintenance on outdoor 'Buran'
From: "David Anderman" Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 9:18
AM

Jim: This mockup was moved to a museum at Baikonur at few weeks ago:http://www.buran-energia.com/blog/20.../lang-pref/en/
-----------

Text: from that site -- OK-M

The test shuttle OK-M was moved few days ago from the area 254, to be
parked near the Baikonur's museum (area 2). May be it will be restaured or
stocked in better conditions.

Numerous projects were studied to use this mock-up and emphasize the
heritage which it represents, but all failed because they required too
important investments. In the second half of January the authorities, under
the management of the first assistant Tomchuka V. R. of ??? of Baikonur,
finally decided to move the mock-up towards the Baikonur's museum because it
is the cheapest solution. The outside of the shuttle will be restored, a
cabin with cosmonauts' seats will be installed there and a showroom will be
fitted out in the payload bay. It is a second life for this shuttle which
takes place at the time of the twentieth anniversary of the Energia's first
launch (in May 17th, 1987).

Hi-res of road transport:

http://www.buran-energia.com/blog/wp...07/03/p1250964...

I often wondered why the Russians didn't try to salvage what the could
from the Buran destruction and offer it up , parts of it that is, as
flown artifacts on the web etc. As I recall there was a bit of
national silence drawn over the whole thing for a while after it
collapsed. I can't beleive they just upped and tossed it away. Any
idea where the debris from the Energia/Buran collapse is today, if it
"is"?...............Doc

wrote in message
oups.com...
I often wondered why the Russians didn't try to salvage what the could
from the Buran destruction and offer it up , parts of it that is, as
flown artifacts on the web etc. As I recall there was a bit of
national silence drawn over the whole thing for a while after it
collapsed. I can't beleive they just upped and tossed it away.

Those folks spent decades being told that capitalism was evil, and to wait
for instructions. You can't just flip a switch and decide to be a
capitalist. It probably never occured to them that the remains of Buran was
a valuable commodity, both as a museum piece *and* fragments to be sold
online.

"Scott Hedrick" wrote in
:


wrote in message
oups.com...
I often wondered why the Russians didn't try to salvage what the
could from the Buran destruction and offer it up , parts of it that
is, as flown artifacts on the web etc. As I recall there was a bit
of national silence drawn over the whole thing for a while after it
collapsed. I can't beleive they just upped and tossed it away.

Those folks spent decades being told that capitalism was evil, and to
wait for instructions. You can't just flip a switch and decide to be a
capitalist. It probably never occured to them that the remains of
Buran was a valuable commodity, both as a museum piece *and* fragments
to be sold online.

The building collapse that crushed Buran was in 2002, more than a year
after the Russians sold a Soyuz seat to Dennis Tito. I think it's safe to
say they had a *little* experience with capitalism then.


--
JRF

Reply-to address spam-proofed - to reply by E-mail,
check "Organization" (I am not assimilated) and
think one step ahead of IBM.

wrote:
I often wondered why the Russians didn't try to salvage what the could
from the Buran destruction and offer it up , parts of it that is, as
flown artifacts on the web etc. As I recall there was a bit of
national silence drawn over the whole thing for a while after it
collapsed. I can't beleive they just upped and tossed it away. Any
idea where the debris from the Energia/Buran collapse is today, if it
"is"?...............Doc



The Sovietski Collection had Buran artifacts for sales in the early
90's. They had tiles, and some nav equipment IIRC.
You can get a tile he
http://www.buran-energia.com/boutiqu...products_id=36

Pat

Scott Hedrick wrote:
Those folks spent decades being told that capitalism was evil, and to wait
for instructions. You can't just flip a switch and decide to be a
capitalist. It probably never occured to them that the remains of Buran was
a valuable commodity, both as a museum piece *and* fragments to be sold
online.


You've never been over there back in the good ol' Marxist days when the
black market ran the country. Those SOBs would have sold their own
mother if they thought they could make a ruble off of her.
I literally had someone try to buy the coat off of my back in the middle
of a Moscow blizzard. :-D
After Communism fell, they started peeling the copper plumbing and
wiring out of Baikonur's streets, and selling that on the black market.
Ask James Oberg, I'm sure he has some great stories about how naive they
are when it comes to business.
Screw Lenin, this is who really replaced the Czar:
http://www.alligator.org/edit/issues...10/ferengi.jpg
They are descendants of Vikings, and believe me, it shows. :-D

Pat