Thread by @11K25_Energia

You might have seen photos of a mysterious Buran orbiter being transported to a museum recently and you're probably wondering which orbiter this is and how it ended up in this situation.

The story is pretty crazy, so here's a rundown.

When the Buran program was approved in 1976, the initial order called for a fleet of two orbiters, These constituted the "first series" with NPO Molniya airframe numbers 1.01 and 1.02. (NPO Energia designators 1K and 2K, respectively).

In 1986 the order for an additional three orbiters was issued; these became the second series orbiters with the airframe numbers 2.01, 2.02 and 2.03. (3K, 4K and 5K, respectively)

BUT in 1989 the Defense Council cut the order from the five total orbiters to just three.

By that time all five had at least started construction but work on 2.02 and 2.03 stopped and the manufactured airframe segments were put into storage.

They were subsequently scrapped in 1995.

You have definitely seen orbiter 1K 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯, which flew to space in 1988 and 2K (often referred to as "Ptichka"), which was was around 95% complete by the time work on the program stopped and was to fly missions to Mir and carry crew, but now resides in a hangar in Baikonur.

2.01 is the first "second series" orbiter, built to an evolved design and influenced by findings from Buran's orbital flight.

The tile pattern was optimized and more areas on the orbiter were covered in thermal blankets instead of silica tiles (echoing Space Shuttle upgrades).

The first four inboard Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the wing leading edges were replaced with an aluminum structure with standard TPS tiles, the area of the aft flap was increased and elevons received retractable air brake flaps.

The kinematics of the landing gear were improved to reduce loads on the airframe and a "shield" was added to stop tiny rocks from being flicked up by the tires onto the brittle silica tiles during touchdown. The airframe construction was simplified;

the cabin's aft bulkhead was replaced with a single forging and payload bay spars were replaced by 18m long titanium forgings.

Many of the metal access hatches were replaced with composite versions and the parachute compartment volume was optimized.

Like all Buran orbiters, 2.01 was built by NPO Molniya at the Tushino Machine-building Plant (TMZ) near Moscow.

It was about 30-50% complete by the time work on the program stopped in 1993 and remained in one of the empty halls at TMZ for the next decade.

Now, you probably know about OK-GLI, the Buran aerodynamic analogue which was bought by Technik Museum Sinsheim in 2003-ish and which arrived in Speyer in 2008...

But that was not the only Buran orbiter the Museum agreed to buy.

According to docs found by V. Lukashevich from buran․ru, in May 2004 the museum entered into another contract with NPO Molniya, this time wanting to purchase orbiter 2.01, or 3K.

The then-marketing director of Molniya allegedly had a relaxed approach to contracts and allegedly maybe possibly could have sold OK-GLI to two different entities in close succession (a court case later reaffirmed TM Sinsheim's purchase); the sale of 2.01 was similarly iffy.

The price was set at USD 270.000, $15.000 of which was a down payment to be wired within 5 days of signing the contract, $75.000 was to be paid when the orbiter was put on the barge to be transported from the TMZ, and the rest on arrival in St Petersburg.

The first payment was completed and in October 2004 the orbiter was transported to a pier at the Khimki reservoir to be loaded on a barge. Photos were taken and sent to TM Sinsheim as proof of the operation. But that's where the Museum's journey towards ownership of 2.01 ended.

The two directors responsible for the sale found themselves in an increasingly unstable position at Molniya; a prepared sales agreement was retrieved from a safe and in 2006 2.01 was sold to SIA International Ltd for $120.000, mere days before the marketing director was fired.

Soon after, the two reappeared on Molniya's board of directors, leading its subsidiary, the TMZ.

The marketing director was also the general director of the newly founded Tushino Corporation, the majority shareholder of which was...

SIA International Ltd; with Molniya and the TMZ as minority shareholders.

So the marketing director oversaw the sale of 2.01 from his employer (Molniya) to the majority shareholder (SIA Int. Ltd.) of the company he was leading (Tushino Corporation).

Anyway, the disassembled orbiter stayed at the Khimki reservoir pier for 7 years, during which time it was "rediscovered" by journalists multiple times and dozens of tiles were torn off to be sold on eBay (despite the area apparently being guarded).

In 2011, an agreement was reached between SIA Int.'s owner Igor Rudinsky and the head of "Rostekhnologia" State Corp., Sergei Chemezov to transport the orbiter to Zhukovsky, restore it, and display it during MAKS-2011. In June 2011 2.01 was put on a barge and floated to Zhukovsky

Interestingly, the crew access hatch was missing, despite being visible in early 2000s photos from when 2.01 was at TMZ.

Turns out, someone bought it! But it's not exactly clear how.

Now, "restoration" is a big word.

With many of the tiles and smaller components missing, some of the gaps in the airframe were filled with plywood and the whole thing was painted over. Moreover, only the side facing the visitors was "restored".

The orbiter was on display during MAKS-2011 and -2013 and stayed parked on the grass for a total of ten years until it was purchased by Vadim Zadorozhny, the owner of the eponymous Museum of Technology, in the fall of 2021 and transported to the museum for restoration.

In early 2022 2.01 was spotted on its way to the museum and was later assembled at the Medyn site awaiting restoration which was due to start later that year. After the restoration, a decision of the final placement of the orbiter was to be made so it could be moved for display.

In July 2024 rumors began circulating that 2.01 will be moved to a different location and the orbiter was spotted on a barge heading to the UMMC Museum Complex of Military and Civil Equipment in Verkhnyaya Pyshma.

In August 2024 footage and photos appeared of the orbiter's arrival at the UMMC and the museum's director was quoted as saying that they plan to restore 3K and display it in a specially-built pavilion.

It is unclear if the ownership was transferred.

So there's that! Hope you enjoyed this deep dive.

You can also read this thread in article form on Medium (link below).

medium.com/@energiaburan/…

Sources for all photos, text and extra reading materials are linked in the Medium article, so I recommend checking it out for extra Buran goodies.