Energia - Buran Space Transportation System

[galopujacy_jez]

Did the main rocket use foam insulation like the American main tank? Tha's what I always wondered.

Yes, it was covered in spray-on foam insulation similar to the one used on the space shuttle (Ripor 2N, PPU-17) with some sections covered in ablative material (PPU-306, PPU-306N, PPU-306NP, applied mostly around the aft orbiter attachment points)

 

[AGS-1787]

Oh so the Buran would had had the same issues as the space shuttle!

 

[Willythekid]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1831794032210845963

View: https://x.com/WDequid/status/1831794032210845963
​

 

[TheKutKu]

Oh so the Buran would had had the same issues as the space shuttle!

Yes, but since Buran was never meant to become the only Soviet crewed spacecraft, Rescue with one or two Soyuz (or eventually, Zarya capsule) would be more manageable if the heatshield would be thought to be compromised, there were proposals to carry emergency return capsules in the payload bay too.

 

[Willythekid]

Did the main rocket use foam insulation like the American main tank? Tha's what I always wondered.

 

[AGS-1787]

It’s really a shame that this machine was just left to rot

 

[NMaude]

was just left to root.

I think you mean left to rot. But, yes, I agree with you, the Energia rocket-launcher had a lot of potential.

 

[AGS-1787]

I just finished 3d printing the whole rocket, next is the An-225

 

[publiusr]

Oh so the Buran would had had the same issues as the space shuttle!

Well, the oxygen ramp on STS faced the orbiter on the exterior. Energiya could have had the line in the middle of opposite from the orbiter.
No SRBs--no Challenger.

 

[galopujacy_jez]

Oh so the Buran would had had the same issues as the space shuttle!

Falling ice was definitely a serious issue that was considered by the designers and was probably what caused most of the tile loss during the 1988 orbital flight. The core stage did not have any foam ramps like the ones on the Space Shuttle ET, so a Columbia-type foam impact was unlikely, same with Challenger-type SRB burn-through, but "standard" ceramic tile spaceplane risks were still present: falling ice, tile erosion, gap filler protrusion, airframe overheating etc.

 

[Byeman]

Well, the oxygen ramp on STS faced the orbiter on the exterior. Energiya could have had the line in the middle of opposite from the orbiter.

Doesn't matter. Debris came off of other areas than foam ramps

 

[Byeman]

No SRBs--no Challenger.

There was NSS-8 instead

 

[buran.energia]

Well it's a pity that those charts are not online (at least I haven't seen them...). I have tried several times to communicate with Vadim, but without any answer from him! The Energia-Buran system is a technological marvel, but it is very difficult to find detailed info about their systems, even in Russian language. There is information, but it is distributed, so you have to do some detective work to put the puzzle together. But hey, it keeps us entertained.

I was able to contact him and buy DVDs and his book. Can share his WhatsApp number

 

[buran.energia]

Any idea what it could be?

 

[Willythekid]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1832174533010170329

View: https://x.com/WDequid/status/1832174533010170329
​

 

[Willythekid]

A view of the Buran's cargo bay, days before its launch (November 15, 1988).

 

[Willythekid]

The Energia heavy rocket at Baikonur.
Source: RIA Novosti

 

[Willythekid]

Energia-Buran at Baikonur's Site 112.

 

[publiusr]

Right before workers brought the roof down on it?

 

[NMaude]

Right before workers brought the roof down on it?

I thought that happened due to corrosion of structural elements in the roof due to a lack of proper maintenance.

 

[Willythekid]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1834682797321339009

View: https://x.com/WDequid/status/1834682797321339009
​

 

[Willythekid]

Nice panorama of the Buran in Baikonur, in the process of restoration after its flight in November 1988.

 

[Willythekid]

Buran 1.02 / Energia rocket at launch pad.

 

[publiusr]

That looks a bit different from the N-1 pad

 

[NMaude]

What a dreadful waste it should`ve been in a museum,ideally side by side with its american counterpart........well dreams are free I suppose.

If Roscosmos had maintained the building in which the Buran and its' Energia launch-rocket were in it could've turned it into a tourist attraction making money from interested western tourists wanting to see the Soviet space Shuttle.

 

[Scar]

If Roscosmos...

Buran burried under the fallen roof was a property of Kazakhstan. As well as the building and all the area where that examplar was stored. The other two exemplars still existing and located in Baikonur belong to Kazakhstan as well.

 

[NMaude]

Buran burried under the fallen roof was a property of Kazakhstan. As well as the building and all the area where that examplar was stored. The other two exemplars still existing and located in Baikonur belong to Kazakhstan as well.

Well in that case Kazakstan missed out on a big money-making tourist trap.

 

[Willythekid]

Test model Buran OK-MT at launch pad.

 

[NMaude]

Test model Buran OK-MT at launch pad.

View attachment 741260

Was that the soviet equivalent of the Enterprise?

 

[Willythekid]

Was that the soviet equivalent of the Enterprise?

No, the Enterprise was built by NASA to perform atmospheric test flights after being launched from a modified Boeing 747. The OK-MT was built for static testing (*), the only time it flew was when it was transported by the Myasishchev VM-T "Atlant" from Moscow to Baikonur.

(*) OK-MT was built in Moscow in 1983 for technological developments, the transport documentation development and loading of the gas tanks, the hermetic systems of safety, the entry and the exit of the crew, the development of the military operations, the maintenance and the flight manuals. Source: www.buran-energia.com

 

[publiusr]

The Analog could take off and land on its own...Not space rated --but without the burden of SSMEs, a Buran type craft could have turbojets...like OK-92.

The potential of an orbiter actually being a full airplane is worth chunking heavy engines--especially if they can be cheaply 3D printed.

Wet workshop out of the core...maybe put engines in the payload bay for return once the paying payload is out?

Or refill the core like Mars Starship.

 

[Hobbes]

Was that the soviet equivalent of the Enterprise?

The Soviet Enterprise was OK-GLI, which is in the Speyer museum these days.

 

[NMaude]

The Soviet Enterprise was OK-GLI, which is in the Speyer museum these days.

So, OK-GLI:

 

[Willythekid]

Buran OK-MT and Energia 4M test articles on their way to the launch pad for integration testing.