Russian Spaceshuttle Buran comes to Speyer!

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Spaceship BURAN

Russian Spaceshuttle comes to Speyer!



It does sound almost unbelievable, after the acquisition of the Russian Concord (Tupolev 144) and the French Concord as well as the purchase of a Jumbo Jet, the Technik Museums Sinsheim and Speyer will now be able to present a further, spectacular exhibit, the Russian Space Shuttle BURAN.

The dimensions are gigantic. The Shuttle is 17 m high, 340 m long and has a hull diameter of almost 8 m. The lift-off weight was 105 tons.

The euphoria of the museum’s makers is undescribable. The transport from Rotterdam to Speyer via the river Rhine is going to be spectacular.

The History of the Russian Space Shuttle BURAN
Similar to the supersonic aircraft, the Russian Tupolev 144 and the French Concorde, which had been developed at the same time with the laws of aerodynamics creating almost identical silhouettes for both planes, the same rules apply for Space Shuttles. The Russian Shuttle is somewhat bigger than the US-model and its development was started by Russian scientists in 1976.

The Russian space shuttle was named BURAN, which could be translated as “Blizzard” and it is amazingly similar in appearance to the US-space shuttle. In 1988 the BURAN was launched into an earth orbit. It completed two orbits and touched down safely again in Baikonour/Kazakhstan. The Russian space agencies are very proud about the fact that the shuttle could fly without cosmonauts. It was radio-controlled from the ground.

The development costs were enormous. Apart from the use for scientific purposes (above all supply services for the space station MIR) a military use was also under consideration. It was planned to equip the BURAN with the ability to catch and gather enemy satellites. Upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union work on the BURAN terminated from reasons of costs. The US-Space Shuttles are still active and, therefore, not yet within reach of the Technik Museum.

The History of the BURAN 002 for the Technik MUSEUM SPEYER
The Space Shuttle was the property of the Russisan space enterprise NPO Molniya, the developing and building firm of the space shuttles. In 2000 an Australian consortium succeeded in bringing the shuttle to the Olympic Games in Sydney where it was shown to the public together with other exhibits.

Six months later the exhibition in Australia terminated, and instead of returning the Russian shuttle to its home country, it was brought to Manama in Bahrain and exhibited there in 2002 in the framework of the Summer Festival of 2002. At the end of this exhibition the shuttle was brought to a storage site at the port of Manama/Bahrain.

How Come that the Technik Museums Sinheim/Speyer now own the BURAN ?
The Technik Museums Sinsheim and Speyer are being supported by a non-profit-making organization with more than 2.000 members worldwide. It is the goal of this organization to preserve technological cultural assets for posterity and to support and encourage the interest in technological developments.

The museums are being financed exclusively from the admission charges paid by visitors as well as from donations and membership subscriptions. Surplus amounts are directly benefiting the museums and will be re-invested.

More than 10 years ago a museum’s member of German origin from Australia reported that a Russian Space Shuttle was going to come to Sydney. A consortium was formed immediately, consisting of volunteers and honorary members, which kept an eye on the BURAN over the years.

The point in time when the Space Shuttle had arrived at the storage site in Bahrain appeared auspicious to go ahead and purchase this BURAN. The Russian owners were overwhelmed by the idea that the space shuttle was going to find its place in one of the most renowned museums in Germany.

But when the BURAN was about to be loaded problems cropped up all of a sudden. One of the helpers of the Australian consortium, a business man from Singapore suddenly claimed rights of ownership and commenced a lawsuit to have title established in his favour. Following were 4 ¼ years of legal fights. All claims of the opposing party were rejected in the first instance, in the appeal and in the revision proceedings. And after a battle of 4 ½ years it was possible now at long last to load the BURAN and transport it away.

The gratitude of the Museum-Team is being extended to the Russian and well as to the German Embassy in Bahrain. Beyond that gratitude is being owed to the Judicial Authorities and the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The Thrilling Transport of the Russian Space Shuttle BURAN to the Technik MUSEUM SPEYER
On Thursday, 6 March 2008, the space shuttle was loaded in Manama/Bahrain on board ship. The hull of the space shuttle was heaved into the bilge, the wings were stored on deck. In the early hours, at 05:30 local time, the vessel with the space shuttle on board was steering into the Arabian Gulf without fuss and feathers.

To get from the storage site to the seagoing vessel the BURAN was first loaded onto a pontoon. From there the space shuttle was heaved onto the deck of an ocean freighter by the vessel’s own cranes.

The route was then leading via the Arabian Gulf, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea in the direction of Suez. The museum’s team is happy to report that the vessel has left the Suez Canal behind and is now navigating the Mediterranean Sea with course to the Straits of Gibraltar. Thereafter it will be passing Portugal and France en route to the English Channel and on to Rotterdam.

In Rotterdam the shuttle will be prepared for land transport. The frames for oceangoing transport will have to be altered for the subsequent transport of the shuttle on a low-loader. Thereafter the space shuttle will be loaded onto a pontoon-boat which will navigate the river Rhine in a tug formation from Rotterdam to Speyer.

Arrival in Speyer is expected to take place in the second week of April.

How will the Russian Space Shuttle BURAN be Presented to the Public at the Technik MUSEUM SPEYER ?
The Technik MUSEUM SPEYER is currently building a new museum hall with a height of 22 meters and an exhibition area of 9000 m². Work to finalized the wall panelling and roof is currently running at high speed. As soon as the floor of the hall has been completed the space shuttle will be placed into the new hall to have its wings, landing gear, instruments and rudder re-attached in order to make everything fit for exhibition. Preparations to plan and build the exhibition “Apollo and Beyond” of the Space Expo e.V. are running parallel to these efforts.

The Museum is planning to have everything ready by mid-summer. Many members and friends of the Museum are already eagerly looking forward to seeing the space shuttle up close.

Numerous exhibits which are already available, like space suits, models of satellites, ISS-working suits and space nutrients from the space station ISS, will then also be presented to the public in the new hall.

At this time already both IMAX filmtheaters in Sinsheim and Speyer are showing spectacular space films on the gigantic IMAX screen.

The museum’s team is happy about the great interest of the public in this new project and is hoping for an unproblematic transport.

Raumfähre Buran im Technik MUSEUM SPEYER

Buran Speyer - Google Bilder