Operational history

Main article: List of Buran missions

Orbital flight

The only orbital launch of a Buran-class orbiter, 1K1 (1К1: first orbiter, first flight[25]) occurred at 03:00:02 UTC on 15 November 1988 from Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad 110/37.[4][26] Buran was lifted into space, on an uncrewed mission, by Energia rocket 1L. The automated launch sequence performed as specified, and the Energia lifted the vehicle into a temporary orbit before the orbiter separated as programmed. After boosting itself to a higher orbit and completing two orbits around the Earth, the ODU (Russian: Объединенная Двигательная Установка, romanized: Ob"yedinennaya Dvigatel'naya Ustanovka, lit. 'Combined Propulsion System') engines fired automatically to begin the descent into the atmosphere, return to the launch site, and horizontal landing on a runway.[27]

After making an automated approach to Site 251,[4] Buran touched down under its own control at 06:24:42 UTC and came to a stop at 06:25:24,[28] 206 minutes after launch.[29] Under a crosswind of 61.2 kilometres per hour (38.0 mph), Buran landed 3 metres (9.8 ft) laterally and 10 metres (33 ft) longitudinally from the target mark.[29][30][disputed – discuss] It was the first spaceplane to perform an uncrewed flight, including landing in fully automatic mode.[31] It was later found that Buran had lost eight of its 38,000 thermal tiles over the course of its flight.[30]

Projected flights

In 1989, it was projected that Buran would have an uncrewed second flight by 1993, with a duration of 15–20 days.[25] However, the dissolution of the Soviet Union led to funding drying up and the Buran programme was officially cancelled in 1993.[32][33]

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_(spacecraft)