Just as defense officials in the United States may have over-estimated (or intentionally inflated) the threat posed by the Soviet Union’s various military and technological programs, Smirnov and his supporters knew that it was in their best interest to really sell the idea that the American shuttle posed a serious threat to Soviet interests. It is capable, through a side maneuver, of changing its orbit in such a way that it would find itself at the right moment right over Moscow, possibly with dangerous cargo,” Smirnov explained in the meeting. Among the Soviets, there was also the fear that this new spacecraft could be used as some sort of orbital bomber. America’s space shuttle would allow for the launch of bigger, more complex spy satellites, allow crews to fly into orbit to conduct maintenance or repairs, and, most importantly, allow for the vessel itself to be re-used–theoretically driving down the price of orbital operations. While the Americans had always done a good job of dressing their space efforts up as nothing more than the pursuit of science and national pride, the military applications of such a vehicle were clear. In fact, by Columbia’s first launch, the Soviets had already begun development on their own space shuttle–one that bore a striking resemblance to NASA’s new crown jewel. The Soviets had been watching America’s space shuttle program mature, thanks to America’s more media-friendly approach to space travel. The success of Columbia’s first mission was an exciting time for the United States, but on the other side of the globe, it left Moscow in a sour mood. If you were to start an 80’s sitcom just as the Columbia launched that day, the space shuttle would go from zero to 17,500 miles per hour before the first commercial break. In just eight and a half minutes, the shuttle would expend all of the fuel in its massive orange fuel tank and burn through its two solid-fuel rocket thrusters. As the shuttle’s three powerful main engines ignited, they burned a swimming pool’s worth of fuel every 25 seconds, thrusting the 4.4 million pound shuttle into the sky with an astonishing 37 million horsepower. On April 12, 1981, NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia roared to life for the first time. Unbeknownst to most, they actually did, and it even flew in space. The Buran did get into space, however, the fall of the USSR meant this program was doomed: Although America’s space shuttle was not the budget-friendly platform it was intended to be, the program was so successful that the Soviet Union decided to build their own. It was active in the 2360s until the year 2367.The Buran was Russia’s Cold War attempt to compete with NASA’s space shuttle. Launched in the 24th century, the Challenger-class starship USS Buran (NCC-57580) was named after the Russian space shuttle Buran. ( ENT - The Romulan War novel: Beneath the Raptor's Wing) ( ENT - Rise of the Federation novel: Live by the Code)Īs such, the Buran continued the trend of naming NX-class starships after pioneering crewed Earth spacecraft. It was the first Columbia-class starship built from scratch, and the eighth vessel in the NX-class series overall. This included the USS Buran (NCC-08), launched in the year 2165. In the 2160s decade, Federation Starfleet constructed new Columbia-class starships.
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