Exploring the Unbeaten Path
1 HN recommender · recommended in 5 months, 2018–2022
15:21 · 4.3M views · Jul 6, 2017
Urban explorers break into the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to film the abandoned Soviet Buran space shuttles. The video shows the decaying orbiters and the dangerous trip to reach them.
Linked in space and Soviet-history threads as striking footage of the rotting Buran shuttles.
5 comments from Hacker News
There's an interesting story about how the CIA got wind that the Soviet Union was trying to steal the US's space shuttle plans in the late 70's/early 80s. So, they mixed in some fake formulas for the heat shield tiles, among other defects, which Russia copied and built. Their "Buran" shuttle made 1 flight and mostly burned up on reentry due to the faulty heat tiles. If you ever see any pictures of the Buran's, they look identical to the US's shuttles, because they were using stolen designs. My aunt was actually directly involved in uncovering this. It would actually make a great movie. [LINK] Edit: Here's a really cool video some guys made when they broke into the facility in Kazakhstan where the Burans currently sit, slowly falling apart. this video
They didn't just go out and build some. The KGB was stealing NASA's plans. NASA caught on (with help from CIA) and implanted falsified heat tile formulas, which the Soviets copied. Their first Buran only flew once and mostly burned up on reentry due to the bad heat tiles. The Soviets copied most of the design but used their own engine.[1] Then the USSR collapsed. Currently they are sitting in decaying hangars in Baikonur, just rotting away. There's video on youtube of people sneaking in (it's a guarded base), flying drones around them and climbing around in and out of them. It's pretty cool. [2] [1] [LINK] [2] this video
It's not unfounded, and they knew about it before it ever flew once. A family member was in the CIA at the time (later at NSA and RAND) and played a role after they were sent to the USSR after graduating college to study Russian (paid for by CIA, they know 8 languages). They translated the technical Russian Buran plans/documents and decoded them for our scientists to compare to their own, as well as help slip design flaws into plans they knew would get stolen (because they knew who was stealing them from Nasa). They met with the president over the issue multiple times. True story. They were also involved in every stealth program until they retired in the early 2k's. They were in the pentagon when the plane struck on 9/11. I really wish I could get them to talk more or write a book lol. [Using "they" to avoid gendering family member] The Soviets (at the time) didn't "copy" it. They stole the plans and made it from them, adding in a few alterations, although the plans they stole were purposefully flawed. If you're up for it, you can visit the Buran's in their final resting place in Baikonur. They're just sitting there rotting away. Here's a video of some kids who broke in and had some fun exploring: this video Article about the Soviet's espionage to get the plans: [LINK]
This video showing some guys sneaking into the facility might have been staged, but it does show good pictures of the vehicles: this video
There are urbex people who took footage of a real decaying Buran in Kazakhstan. Illegally, of course. this video