http://petapixel.com/2015/06/14/photographer-captures-the-ruins-of-the-soviet-space-shuttle-program/

Photographer Captures the Ruins of the Soviet Space Shuttle Program
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Russian urban exploration photographer Ralph Mirebs 
recently paid a visit to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, 
where inside a giant abandoned hangar are decaying 
remnants of prototypes from the Soviet space shuttle 
program.

Gizmodo writes that the Buran program was in 
operation for nearly two decades from 1974 to 
1993. One automated orbital flight resulted from 
the extensive program, but the project was 
shuttered when the Soviet Union collapsed.

Mirebs went into the massive 62-meter (~203 foot) tall hangar and captured a fascinating series of photos showing the detail and complexity of a space program that met an untimely end.

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Of the two run-down Buran shuttles found in the hangar, 
one was almost ready for flight back in 1992 and the 
other was a full-sized mock-up that was used for 
testing things like mating and load. Unfortunately 
for both, and for the countless scientists involved 
in the program, things came to an abrupt halt just 
one year later, and the hangar has remained in this 
state for over two decades now.

You can find a larger set of these photos and a 
writeup (in Russian) over on Mirebs’ blog.

Image credits: Photographs by Ralph Mirebs and used with permission

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Wikipedia

Under the current Russian space program, Baikonur 
remains a busy spaceport, with numerous commercial, military and scientific missions being launched annually.[2][3] All manned Russian spaceflights are launched from Baikonur.[4]

Both Vostok 1, the first manned spacecraft in human history, and before it, Sputnik 1, the world's first orbital spaceflight of any sort, were launched from one of Baikonur's launch pads, which is now known as Gagarin's Start, named after Yuri Gagarin.

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http://sometimes-interesting.com/2014/05/26/scientific-test-range-no-5-the-baikonur-cosmodrome/
Story of the Baikonur Cosmodrom (with pictures)

================
http://petapixel.com/2015/06/14/photographer-captures-the-ruins-of-the-soviet-space-shuttle-program/
Main article

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http://www.popsci.com/why-soviet-space-shuttle-was-left-rot
Popular Science

====================
https://www.rt.com/news/271195-buran-space-shuttle-photos/
RT Question More website

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