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Aviation History
1988
1988 - 3356.PDF
\ \ it \ Second Soviet shuttle may be by Tim Furniss Soviet test pilots are pressing for a manned second shuttle flight following the flawless automatic unmanned maiden flight of Buran on November 15. Buran was launched by the second Energia heavylift booster from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 0600hr Moscow time, and landed 12km away on 4-5km- long concrete runway 3hr 25min later. The unmanned orbiter made two Earth orbits under auto matic onboard computer con trol. The success of the most technically demanding space mission flown by the Soviets stunned admiring Western experts. Buran was launched at the third attempt, 16 days after the previous tries ended at T-4hr and at T-5lsec, latterly when a guidance system access arm failed to retract far enough from the vehicle. It inaugurated a new launch complex, one of at least two operational launch pads, some distance from where the first Energia was launched on May 15 last year. The next try was almost cancelled by bad weather. About 7hr before launch, as tne strap-on boosters and core stage of the 60m-high Energia 2 vehicle were being loaded with 2,000 tonnes of liquid oxygen, kerosene, and liquid hydrogen propellants, high winds and squalls threatened cancellation of the launch. The major fear had been the build-up of ice on the orbiter. The temperature at Baikonur was 4°C. The heavy rain continued until T-3hr, and a go for launch was announced. The launch had a 12sec build up towards the blast-off, in which Energia and Buran were completely enveloped in enor- 'mous orange and grey billowing clouds. Unlike the US Shuttle, which lifts off at T-zero after a go for main engine start command ten seconds before, Buran lifted-off 12sec after T-zero, when all the engines on Energia were ignited. Full thrust was achieved about three seconds before blast-off. Energia strap-on and core stages took Buran into an initial low orbit, and Buran's orbital manoeuvring system engines made two burns to place the 100-tonne orbiter in a 250km circular orbit at T+47min after lift-off. Orbit inclination was 51-6°. After its brief test mission, Buran automatically oriented itself for retrofire, tail first. As re-entry began, Buran reor- FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 26 November 1988
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