Be Excellent To Each Other

I found this while on the bbc website

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7738489.stm

Some 20 years ago, on 30 September 1988, many readers of the Pravda newspaper - the official mouthpiece of the Soviet communist party - could not believe their eyes.

Published somewhat inconspicuously on the second page, there was a photo depicting the familiar shape of the US space shuttle, but with Soviet insignia on its wings.

And it apparently out-performed the US version. Interesting.

Great story, isn't it? Pity they didn't manage to use those whacking great rockets for anything - like lifting the International Space Station, as suggested in the article. But all in all, a bit "in your face", isn't it - yes, we had a shuttle, but we realised there was little future in a "space-going truck" and never really used it (yadda yadda perestroikaglasnost too, I know, but still).

Although I've posted this link before, some photos of the Russian Cosmodrome - with a Buran mockup in the background.

Also: the plane built to carry it - which is fucking HUGE!

Edit: ignore, as I figured it out.

The Buran was amazing... I remember doing a project on it for school. It could fly entirely automatically and carry loads more cargo than the NASA one. And yes, the plane to piggyback it was far cooler than a 747.

Holy crumbs! Six engines! Three hundred wheels! That thing looks ludicrously huge - I wonder how much bigger you could theoretically get an aeroplane to be?

If you made it a ground effect aircraft, potentially huge.