They started development in 1974, so only a few years after work on the Space Shuttle started. I'm not sure at what point it became clear that the Shuttle was n

They started development in 1974, so only a few years after work on the Space Shuttle started. I'm not sure at what point it became clear that the Shuttle was not living up to expectations, but anyway Buran's development didn't exactly go smoothly either. This is a better article than Wikipedia's: http://www.astronautix.com/craft/buran.htm http://www.astronautix.com/craft/buran.htm