Even though it is possible to agree on this, questions arise. How can a huge ship be transported technologically? And what will be his future destiny?
At the beginning of September, on the website of the research and production association “ Molniya & # 39; & # 39; it was reported that the company intends to return to Russia a copy of the reusable Buran spacecraft, located on the territory of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. In the 1970s & mdash; In the 1980s, it was the NGO “ Lightning '' developed this rocket plane, which is considered a unique achievement of Russian astronautics.
In total, two Buran flight examples were fully built. The one who made the only flight in 1988 has since been in the assembly and test building at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, but in 2002 an emergency occurred there: the collapsed roof was destroyed. vessel. A second copy remained at the Cosmodrome: item 1.02 'Storm'. It was intended for automatic flight and docking at Mir station. Added to this are two technological models of the Baikonur shuttle, made for various tests. One of them is on display next to the Cosmodrome Museum.
In May of this year there was information that the storage place of “ Burana & # 39; & # 39; strangers walked in and painted it with graffiti. Roscosmos reacted strongly: it was announced that Russia would raise the question of the preservation of historical objects in Baikonur and even bring them back to Russia.
And now representatives of the NGO “ Molniya '' visited Kazakhstan. They examined the rocket plane and the model next to it in order to solve the problems of their further transportation to the territory of our country. “ Based on the results of the meeting, it was decided that the dismantling, transport and subsequent assembly of the vessel and fitting out should be carried out under the supervision of the NGO & # 39; Molniya & # 39; # 39; as a company-developer of an orbital ship & raquo;, & mdash; stated on & nbsp; s website.
A few days later, there was a verbal skirmish on Facebook. Dauren Moussa , the general manager of RKK Baikonur, which owns the copy of the flight and the model of the shuttle, wrote that he would not give Roskosmos consent to the implementation of his plan. He accused the Russian side of 'imitation of violent activity' and “unfounded speculation” on Buran export. It was answered by Dmitry Rogozin: “ You & lt; … & gt; did nothing to store them properly. & # 39; & # 39;
Roscosmos manager points out that the current shipowner is using media reports as a pretext to stir up passions and he should assess the risks of his 'bad owner' behavior. “ We look forward to the outcome of the trial, hoping that in the end '' Burany & ldquo; will find a more considerate owner or have you invest at least one tenge in the preservation of exhibits of global importance ',' & mdash; Rogozin concludes.
However, additional questions arise here. How to make Buran technologically in Russia? And what could be the future fate of this body? & Nbsp;
& # 39; Declaration of intent & bdquo; Roscosmos & ldquo; the return of the ship is surprising. How are they going to transport it? & mdash; think scientific director of the Institute for Space Policy Ivan Moiseev. & mdash; Fuselage width & bdquo; Burana & ldquo; & mdash; 5.6 meters, height & mdash; 6.2 meters. A railroad car is only about 3 meters wide. It could be barged, but barges don't go to Baikonur. In Soviet times & bdquo; Buran & ldquo; transported on the & bdquo; Mriya & ldquo;, the largest aircraft in the world in operation. But now it belongs to Ukraine, and its use for this purpose will require the consent of their president, which is extremely unlikely.
Si & bdquo; Buran & ldquo; they will still be transported, the only fate that awaits them, & mdash; stand as a monument to the greatest mistake of Soviet cosmonautics. This spaceship, which took almost 15 years and enormous resources to create, was never used for nothing.
But, most likely, this idea will be scrapped as soon as they consider how much it may cost to implement it. & # 39; & # 39; .