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I mean that the Buran could (and did) land without human assistance. It basically did what the air-forces new toy did earlier this year, but back in 1988.

• pavel_lishin 16y ago
  You mean the pilots could jettison themselves into space, and the thing would auto-land? Or that they didn't need any support ground-side to set it down?
  • burgerbrain 16y ago
    The Buran's single launch was completely unmanned, as in, there were no people in it. Supposedly the software for the UI inside the craft wasn't even installed or operational. The craft landed itself, NASA shuttle style, on a runway. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_%28spacecraft%29#Flight_into_space http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_%28spacecraft%29#Flight_i...
  • georgecmu 16y ago
    He means that it didn't need pilots. The one time it was launched into orbit and landed, it was completely automatic.