Soviet Buran space shuttle parked near Yekaterinburg: video

A huge spacecraft has been parked near Yekaterinburg. Its construction was once followed by the entire Soviet Union. This is the legendary «Buran» — the first reusable orbital cargo ship in history. Now you can see it not on television, but up close. Where and how — we tell in the video.

Buran 2.01 is the third flight model of the orbital spacecraft, created as part of the Soviet space program «Energia–Buran», and the only one preserved in Russia. The spacecraft was intended to be named «Baikal», but it never got to the point of having the name applied. Construction was not completed due to lack of funding. In 1993, the spacecraft«s readiness was estimated at 30–50%.

This Buran never saw space, but instead traveled half of Russia. It was transported to the Urals from the town of Medyn in Kaluga Region. The transportation took a month, with part of the journey by water, and another part by highways, where oncoming cars were sped up, road signs removed, and wires raised for the space shuttle — moving such an oversized cargo was very difficult.

A new pavilion for the Buran was built in the Museum Complex in Verkhnyaya Pyshma (near Yekaterinburg). The exhibition is dedicated to the history of space exploration, the world«s first unmanned flight, and the grand project of Soviet science and technology — the reusable space transportation system »Energia–Buran«.