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another important difference -- while the US Space Shuttle was manned, the Buran flew an unmanned mission. It launched, orbited the Earth several times, and lan

another important difference -- while the US Space Shuttle was manned, the Buran flew an unmanned mission. It launched, orbited the Earth several times, and landed just a few feet from the X on the runway under automated control. A rather impressive achievement. If not for the fact that the US&USSR were working like mad to find a way to destroy one-another, the cold war + space race was great for advancement of science.

sverige 8y ago
> If not for the fact that the US&USSR were working like mad to find a way to destroy one-another, the cold war + space race was great for advancement of science. Armed conflict or the threat of it has been the driver for a big percentage of the advancements in science, ever since Archimedes. Some posit that one of the main reasons Europe became the seat of scientific advancement after about the 15th century was because of the frequent wars between its many nations. Certainly nuclear technology and the physics underlying it were advanced rapidly because of WWII, just as space tech blossomed with all the money thrown at it during the Cold War. Now the war has gone mostly underground and involves advances in surveillance, psychological control of entire populations, and AI. Not a shot fired, with worse results for everyone compared to the Cold War since there's no scenario where the victor relinquishes control of its population. Further, most of the control is held by essentially unaccountable private firms rather than (at least somewhat) accountable governments. But please feel free to continue to believe it's just about serving ads and selling shit to an audience, while making everyone's life more convenient with self-driving cars and the like. Perhaps I'm just a nutter.
makerofspoons 8y ago
The concept of a robotic shuttle was picked up again over a decade later with the Boeing X-37B. Being able to retrieve satellites and material from orbit has many applications in espionage and space research.
moftz 8y ago
The Buran was never man-rated so doing an unmanned mission would have been the only way to test it.
- avmich 8y ago
  It wasn't man rated - yet - because of course you're flying first flights unmanned. Unlike those crazy Americans...

sverige 8y ago

> If not for the fact that the US&USSR were working like mad to find a way to destroy one-another, the cold war + space race was great for advancement of science. Armed conflict or the threat of it has been the driver for a big percentage of the advancements in science, ever since Archimedes. Some posit that one of the main reasons Europe became the seat of scientific advancement after about the 15th century was because of the frequent wars between its many nations. Certainly nuclear technology and the physics underlying it were advanced rapidly because of WWII, just as space tech blossomed with all the money thrown at it during the Cold War. Now the war has gone mostly underground and involves advances in surveillance, psychological control of entire populations, and AI. Not a shot fired, with worse results for everyone compared to the Cold War since there's no scenario where the victor relinquishes control of its population. Further, most of the control is held by essentially unaccountable private firms rather than (at least somewhat) accountable governments. But please feel free to continue to believe it's just about serving ads and selling shit to an audience, while making everyone's life more convenient with self-driving cars and the like. Perhaps I'm just a nutter.

makerofspoons 8y ago

The concept of a robotic shuttle was picked up again over a decade later with the Boeing X-37B. Being able to retrieve satellites and material from orbit has many applications in espionage and space research.

moftz 8y ago

The Buran was never man-rated so doing an unmanned mission would have been the only way to test it.

avmich 8y ago
It wasn't man rated - yet - because of course you're flying first flights unmanned. Unlike those crazy Americans...