In this book, the authors describe the long development of the Soviet space shuttle system, its infrastructure and the space agency's plans to follow up the fir... » 

In this book, the authors describe the long development of the Soviet space shuttle system, its infrastructure and the space agency's plans to follow up the first historic unmanned mission. The book includes comparisons with the American shuttle system and offers details of the talented Soviet test pilots chosen to train to fly the system, as well as the operational, political and engineering problems that finally sealed the fate of Buran and ultimately of NASA's Shuttle fleet.The coverage opens with a Foreword written by a former Buran cosmonaut, and goes on to provide a detailed description of the first orbital test flight of the Buran shuttle in 1988, giving details of the development of the various Soviet space plane projects of the 1950s and 1960s. The authors then detail ground support, and the facilities and infrastructure created to prepare, launch, control and recover the Buran vehicle. «