The beauty of the beast

Built in 1980, as part of the Soviet mission of counteracting the US Space Shuttle programme, Buran was one of five spacecrafts built — and possibly the only one which ended up seeing light. Buran (meaning snowstorm) was ironically launched during a snowstorm in November 1988, and it was the only unmanned craft to fly in a fully automated mode (only beaten by a Boeing in 2010). Unfortunately, due to the collapse of the USSR, this success was never repeated — even though it was truly remarkable for a plane of this size and complexity to launch, maneuver, re-enter the atmosphere and then land safely. Mikhail Gorbachev was said to dislike the programme just enough to bury it.

Buran the baby next to Mriya, another superplane.

We mentioned it here when we wrote about Mriya the superplane.

Sadly, this was the end of it. Buran was stored (or should we say forgotten at Baikonur), even though there were talks of reviving it. In 2002 the roof collapsed, due to poor maintenance, and Buran was left under the sky to rot.

The very building without the roof

Later it was moved to Tushino, an aerodrome not far from Moscow, with the plans to use it as a museum item. In June this year it finally got some publicity it deserved: it has been decided for it to be carefully repaired and eventually to be displayed in a Zhukovsky space museum.

Sailing past the Kremlin

In bright daylight: I hope whoever is responsible for this is ashamed of this sight.

Images courtesy of Ilya Varlamov.

The unattended spacecraft vandalised: the expensive thermoisolation tiles got ripped as souveniers

Thermoprotective tiles: Close up

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1. Mriya The Plane: The Biggest Dream

The superplane carrying a Buran.

In 1984 the big country needed a big plane. Antonov Design Bureau was entrusted with developing of a plane for large-sized cargo transportation. A six-motor super heavy turbojet plane An-225 «Mriya» («dream» in Ukranian) became the product of the designers’ four-year work. The aircraft, which will celebrate it’s twenty years anniversary of its first test flight, still remains the absolute champion in terms of load-carrying capacity.

Mriya can lift up to 250 ton.

he first test flight, on December 21, 1988 lasted for a hour and a quarter and proved the plane to be as brilliant as promised: the piloting was smooth, the equipment was easily operated, the aerodynamics were perfect. The cargo cabin of the plane is air-proof, which considerably expands its transporting capabilities. The onboard complex of the loading equipment, as well as the design of the front cargo hatch with a ramp provide for fast and convenient carrying out of cargo handling works; besides, outside there are special systems of fastening so the plane can carry cargo on its fuselage as well.

The cockpit.

Initially it was developed specifically for transportation of such cargoes as Buran Shuttle (which was delivered by «Mriya» on May 13, 1989, from Zhukovsky town situated near Moscow to Baikonur), missile carrier components, including «Energy», equipment for the mining, building and oil-extracting industry. Today An-225 is used mainly for commercial transportation of large cargoes, but in view of the unique qualities of «Mriya» there is being actively made the Ukrainian-Russian research concerning use of the plane as a flying launch complex for aerospace systems.

An-225, the charts.

The Soviet «Mriya» is famous far outside the country. It even has its own money. Thanks to its outstanding qualities An-225 was placed by the British experts among the thirteen most significant planes in the history of aircraft. Their images are minted on the reverse side of the series of «Gold history of heavy aircraft construction» coins. The other side, in accordance with the tradition, is decorated with a portrait of Her Majesty Elizabeth II.

Isn’t she a beauty?

After the launch.

The cargo bay

She is also a convertible: the roof goes up.

Oh, and remember the movie 2012? Mriya was in it, destroying Las Vegas – well, it was it’s computer model. The movie-makers tried really hard to keep it as close to reality as possible, however, some things were changed (the cargo bay of the screen Mriya is much smaller).

maximal commercial loading 250 tons

cruiser speed                                               750 — 850 km/h

cruising level                                               9 000 — 12 000 m

flying range with a 200 ton cargo            4 000 km

maximal flying range                                14 000 km

airdrome length                                         3 000 — 3 500 m

plane length 84 m

wingspan                                                     88,4 m

height                                                           18,1 m

crew                                                             6 persons

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2. Soviet Sightseeings and Trivia Game
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Buran VS Shuttle

According to the Soviet propaganda, everything which wasn’t invented by the ancient Chinese, was invented by the Soviet engineers in the USSR. Ah, they were said to invent the best weaponry, the best tanks and the best cars.

In reality, of course, the path of inventions had a very moderate development but in order to keep the morale up, Soviet government had the engineers copying things off their American, Canadian or Japanese counterparts. Certainly, nothing is wrong with it  per se– such strategies usually allow to save time and money by buying and recreating a licensed version. However, the root of all evils is the mentioned Soviet brainwash on the topic of Soviet  superiority in all fields of engineering research and  development.

Let’s have a closer look at who really invented what.

One of the most controversial inventions was the gunfire rifle AK-47 invented by a Soviet engineer Mikhail Kalashnikov in, well, 1947. The holy war over this rifle and its true origins has been going on for more than half a century. The story goes that after the second World War, Germany was not allowed to produce weapons, which the USSR authorities used to their advantage: the prominent weaponmaker Hugo Schmeisser was invited to visit the arms plants in the Ural mountains, where later on the Soviets allegedly stole some of his ideas. As per usual, the truth is hard to find, however, we won’t be surpised if his family would file a lawsuit over the intellectual property of this particual invention.

AK 47 vs Stturmgewehr 44 by Hugo Schmeisser

Another piece of weaponry story: it is hard to tell whether it was copied off the Finnish or the Soviets just happened to invent a similar-looking rifle just a year later. The resemblance is striking, and yet again, no mention of the rights reseved.

Shpagin Rifle, 1941 vs Suomi Rifle (Finland), 1931

Next, the popular Makarov pistol of 1951– another acclaimed example of Soviet weaponry, this pistol had been copied by many as a popular military side arm.The question is still raised whether it is a scaled up version of a German pistol (minus decorative elements), but the resemblance is quite uncanny.

Makarov 9mm Pistol, 1951 vs German Walther 9 mm Ultra, 1935

Next, heavy military machinery. Every kid knows that tanks were the USSR’s frst and foremost object of pride, yet there is an opinion that the famous T-34 and its later versions were just copycats of the American Christie line.

T-34, 1940 vs Tank Christie, USA, circa 1930

The next one is probably one of the fewer honest examples of Soviet cooperation. During the WWII, seventy of American electric locomotives were shipped to the USSR as part of the Allied Forces war effort. The USSR authories kept them after the war, adopting the design to form the basis of their own line of diesel locomotives.

Diesel-Electric Loco (DA), of 1946 vs American ALCO RSD-1, of 1941

As for the planes, here even the wikipedia supports the story of the Tupolev plane Tu-4 being shamelessly copied off the American Boeing B-29 Superfortress.In 1945 the Tupolev avia construction company had meticulously reengineered the American plane to the point of ashtray locations! Certainly the whole concept of reverse engineering (ie, discoverig the technological principles of something through analysing its workings in detail) is praiseworthy.

The Tupolev TU-4 (1947) vs Boeing B-29 of 1942

Even the rockets — the endless well of Soviet pride — are rumoured to be the copies of the German development. Needless to say, it is still a remarkable act of engineering. Academic Sergey Korolev — the same scientist who sent the first human Gagarin in the outer space — was in charge of this project, so it just as successful.

The rocket R1, 1948 vs the German V-2, 1942

The following projects do not look identical, however, both the hydro electrical power station on the river Dnipro and the American Hoover Dam, NV have something in common: their chief engineer, C J Thompson, who oversaw the development of both projects.

DneproGes (1927–1939) vs Hoover Dam (1922–1933)

Another finest example of dubious engineering success — when Khrushchev started his building binge, his architect team did not invent the hideous looking apartment blocks — they just borrowed the idea of the German civil engineers. Pity both parties, in this case.

Soviet vs German Plattenbau Apartment Blocks

The automobile industry was the one with the most copied items. In some cases, even parts are said to be compatible!

Moskvich-400 (1947) vs German Opel Cadette of 1936.

Gaz Mini Truck, 1932 vs Ford AA, 1929

Volga of 1970 vs Ford Falcon, 1966

Volga of 1970 vs Ford Mainline of 1954.

Also, remember our post about Vyatka mopeds, the exact and true copies of Vespa? That one is just classic.

The bottom line here is about honesty, really. Nobody is expected to invent things from scratch — you can borrow other people’s ideas as long as they are properly copyrighted. It is also more efficient  to modify the original version to suit the domestic realities better. However, it is good manners to acknowledge the work of others. And it is certainly shameful to claim the intellectual rights to things which never belonged to you. And this is where the USSR had failed dramatically.

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In the late 1950s, when the Cold War between the USSR and the USA was at its peak, the next step of flexing the power muscle was the space exploration. Since both countries were trying really hard to outdo each other, it was only a matter of time before one would take over.

The way it happened, the USSR got ahead. When in April 1961 the first man went into the outer space and orbited the Earth, the world went berserk over the new, well, horizons.

We are the champions, my friend.

But what took him so long?

All the experiments with plants, mice, rats and dogs going into the outer space had showed that a human could survive a trip across the orbit. Hence since 1950s a range of programmes for the training of humans for such trips was being developed. A team of doctors, physicians, academics and aviation practitioners came to a conclusion that military pilots would have the most suitable background for the extraterrestrial activities. The pilots can cope well with noises, vibration, speed; they have strong decision making skills, they are observant and assertive, as well as strong willed, disciplined, ambitious and focused.

The centrifuge

Among the other criteria were:

• height – up to 175cm;
• weight – up to 75kgs;
• age – up to 35;
• education – an aviation engineer or similar aviation background;
• health – excellent;
• commitment to the USSR and the space programme – endless.

Certainly this was the initial list; as the time went by it was loosened and became more accommodating. Also, the participation was voluntary – no matter how strict and regulated the other spheres of Soviet life were, it was decided to base the space exploration mission on commitment and mutual trust. In 1959 about 500 candidates were downsized to only 6: Varlamov, Gagarin, Kartashov, Nikolaev, Popovich, Titov.

Geographically, the first training polygons were on the Volga banks, until the early 1960s, when the team was moved to Moscow and later on to Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

Baikonur launching pad, 1988

The initial training was parachute jumping and scuba diving followed by plane and helicopter flying. Consequently, the exercise programmes were progressing from athletic fitness regimes to simulations of weightlessness (zero gravity), G force, as well as land and sea survival training.

Underwater training

Along with the main training scheme, an alternative training programme for female astronauts was being developed and implemented. A number of experiments on female chimpanzees had led to believe that females are just as suitable for space exploration. In 1963, when Valentina Tereshkova successfully spent three days in outer space, this hypothesis was confirmed.  Now the speculations arise that she was chosen from among all others due to her working class background. She was a seamstress who enjoyed parachute jumping as a hobby and for the Soviet authorities it was important to show for the West that literally anybody in the USSR could be sent to space — even if you are a woman; even if you are a seamstress.

Ms Valentina Tereshkova

As for the gear, the first versions of spacesuits were designed in the USSR in early 1930s. They had a fairly simplistic design — a hermetic suit with a helmet, and it would not even allow to bend limbs. As the engineers were progressing in their R & D, the spacesuits were becoming more and more sophisticated, until just eight weeks before the Yuri Gagarin mission the final model was approved as “good to go”.

That very suit — the first outfit for out there.

After Yuri Gagarin had successfully flew across the orbit, the American media had a string of statements about the unpreparedness of the Soviet astronauts to such actions. In reality, the whole cosmonaut training programme was rushed and quite possibly the Soviet side needed more time to prepare; yet the ideology and propaganda of the Cold War left no time for further experiments and trials: it just had to be done.

Paper Soldier.

This post has been inspired by the movie Paper Soldier (2008)  by a well-renowned Russian director Alexey German Jr.  The movie shows six weeks prior to the Gagarin’s mission from the medical, ethical and ideological points of view through the eyes of a young conscientious doctor. The whole space project is somewhat of a dream which not even the cosmonauts dare to believe in. Paper Soldier has received a very warm welcome across the globe, but, for some strange reason, Russian reviews are less than acclaiming as the director is blamed for labelling the greatest accomplishment of the Soviets a “fluke”. Well, we have attempted at looking into the training programme of the austronauts, however, the great deal of documents was classified at the time and as per usual, the truth is hard to find.

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