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Sputnik V vaccine, Buran shuttle, USSR itself, I could go on. Will Russia ever shed its reputation of being a perpetual “me, too” with poor execution? Is the wo
by AuthorizedCust 5y ago
Sputnik V vaccine, Buran shuttle, USSR itself, I could go on. Will Russia ever shed its reputation of being a perpetual “me, too” with poor execution? Is the world better off without Russia overcoming it?
- rbanffy 5y agoFor the record, Buran was a lot better than the Shuttle and, probably, cheaper to operate as well. The shuttle was reusable, but it required so much refurbishment after a flight it never accomplished its goal of cheap access to orbit. Being unmanned, a Buran could stay in orbit for far longer than a Shuttle too.
- AuthorizedCust 5y agoIt was theoretically better in selected aspects, but do we really know given how little it flew? The USSR knockoff of the Concorde was also superior on paper in certain aspects, but firsthand accounts of flying on it and its operational history clearly expose its inferiority to western technology.
- rbanffy 5y agoWe can extrapolate from what we know. It wouldn't need engine refurbishment, which proved more costly than expected. It could operate in fully automated mode, which would allow longer stays in space. It also had ~30 tons of extra payload, which would offset some of the extra cost of the fully expendable Energia booster. Would it deliver on what Shuttle promised? No. Would it be more flexible? Yes. Would it be a good match for the other Soviet space gear? No. Had the Soviet Union not collapsed, would it have evolved into a more usable vehicle? That we'll never know.