And the Buran system was more impressive than the shuttle, capable of completely automated flight!
So they say but since it never even went into space it’s a bold claim.
I’m reading that it orbited at an altitude of up to 263 km, well above the Karman line. Is that not space?
Well that’s debatable but really the point is it never did a re-entry so we really don’t know how reusable it would have been.
If it didn’t do a reentry, how did it get down from that altitude?
By landing?
Reentry doesn’t mean flying downwards it means actually coming in at a high enough speed to generate heating. Otherwise it’s just falling.
I’m pretty sure any reentry from orbit is going to involve high enough speeds to generate heating.
It’s just like their foxbat claims…turned out it was a flying brick.
Edit: apparently I pissed off some tankies lol
It’s well known that the foxbat was heavily exaggerated in its capabilities. It’s how we ended up with the f15 and it’s insane capabilities. Just like now russia fighting in Ukraine, paper tiger.
Oh? Which test flight demonstrated that?
I don’t think it was ever confirmed. They only flew the thing once, which was confirmed. Anything else claiming superior tech I’d call USSR propaganda.
I’m not sure whether the orbital flight counts as test or operational, but that one. The prior test flights only had automated landings.
