The Soviet Spaceplane Buran: A Secret Copy of the Space Shuttle

🚀The Soviet Union secretly created a spaceplane called Buran, heavily inspired by the American Space Shuttle.

🕵️The Soviets used espionage and online information gathering to obtain crucial documents and data on the Shuttle's design and technology.

💰The Soviets spent almost a million dollars and acquired over 3,000 documents, saving billions of dollars and years of development.

🔍The CIA sabotaged the Soviet's design by feeding them flawed Shuttle design documents disguised as new and improved designs.

🛰️Despite its capabilities, the Buran project was abandoned after the fall of the Soviet Union, and only two prototypes remain.

How did the Soviets copy the Space Shuttle?

—Through espionage and online information gathering, the Soviets obtained crucial documents and data on the Shuttle's design and technology, allowing them to create a remarkable copy called Buran.

Did the Soviets surpass the capabilities of the Space Shuttle?

—The Buran was more capable than the Space Shuttle in many ways, but the project was ultimately abandoned after the fall of the Soviet Union.

How much did the Soviets spend on obtaining the documents?

—The Soviets spent almost a million dollars, in today's money, and acquired over 3,000 documents, which saved them billions of dollars and years of development.

What did the CIA do to sabotage the Soviet's design?

—The CIA created flawed Shuttle design documents and fed them to the Soviets, disguising them as new and improved designs, which hindered the progress of the Buran project.

Are there any remaining prototypes of the Buran?

—Yes, there are two prototypes of the Buran remaining, located in a hangar near Baikonur in Kazakhstan.

00:00In 1988, the Soviet Union unveiled their own spaceplane called Buran, which was a remarkable copy of the American Space Shuttle.

03:47The Soviets used espionage and online information gathering to obtain crucial documents and data on the Shuttle's design and technology.

07:17The Soviets spent almost a million dollars and acquired over 3,000 documents, saving billions of dollars and years of development.

06:53The CIA sabotaged the Soviet's design by feeding them flawed Shuttle design documents disguised as new and improved designs.

07:31Despite its capabilities, the Buran project was abandoned after the fall of the Soviet Union, and only two prototypes remain.