Buran: Russia's Space Shuttle Trivia Quiz

Answer: Snowstorm

The Buran Shuttle is an aerodynamic copy of the U.S. Space Shuttle. They did this as a result of their inability to improve on the U.S. Space Shuttle design. MiG (Russian military jet manufacturer) was chosen as the sub-contractor to build Buran. The project officially began in 1976 and officially ended in 1993.

Answer: November 15, 1988

The only flight into space, on November 15, 1988, was unmanned because the life support system had not been checked out and the CRT displays had no software installed. After some technical difficulties Buran was launched, flew two orbits, then retro fired for re-entry and landed on the runway at Baikonur in 34 mph crosswinds. (November 9, 1989 was when the Berlin Wall began being tore down, June 12,1990 is the Russian Independence Day, and December 25, 1991 the U.S.S.R. was officially dissolved.)

Answer: 2

This mission was limited to only two orbits because of computer memory limitations. It is unknown what one mission cost the Russians, perhaps as high as 131 million dollars, but the Buran/Energia Program cost them an estimated 16-17 billion dollars. In comparison the U.S. Space Shuttle program cost 3-5 billion dollars.

Answer: Energia

Energia is Russian for "energy". The Energia rocket can lift 100 tons into orbit and is one of the largest rockets ever built. It is sixty meters high and has 4000 tons of thrust. The Energia does all the work with no help what so ever from Buran. However the Energia was fitted with "Zenith" strap on boosters for the Buran launch.

Answer: Baikonur

Baikonur is in Kahzakstan, which is now an independent republic. So the Russians lease the Baikonur Space Port from Kahzakstan. The other two Russian launch sites are Kapustin Yar and Plesetsk. Moscow is where one of their Mission Control Centers are located.

Answer: 38,000

The heat tiles can take thousands of degrees of temperature, cool down very rapidly and are absolutely essential for bringing a spacecraft back through the atmosphere for a landing. They are made from silica. After the Buran's only space flight it was dicovered that only five tiles were missing.

Answer: 30 tons

That's 5 tons more than the U.S. Space Shuttle can lift into orbit. This credit goes to the powerful Energia rocket. It has been suggested the the Energia is fully capable for launching a mission to the moon or Mars. Basically the Buran is attached to the Energia and is just along for the ride.

Answer: 193ft

The Buran's dimensions are very close to those of the U.S. Space Shuttle. But there are many differences also, one being the fact that the Buran is fitted with "Ejection Seats" for the crew, that can withstand Mach4+ blowouts. Also the Russians were only going to use the Buran for things that there other space programs couldn't handle.(3-4 launches per year)

Answer: 2

The reason for having only 2 engines is that they are only used for manuevering and re-entry , they are not used on the launch. Like the U.S. Space Shuttle there are numerous smaller maneuvering rockets built into Buran. There 5 different ways a spacecraft can maneuver: thrust, drag, pitch, yaw and roll.

Answer: Political and economic changes

Changes within the former Soviet Union after the collapse of communism directly contributed to the demise of the Russian shuttle program. Well, I hope you enjoyed this quiz, maybe someday the Russians will get their shuttle back into space.