The Life and Death of Russia's Space Shuttle Program

[Nottingham]

The Life and Death of Russia's Space Shuttle Program
09/02/2003 17:17
Despite of the total collapse and economic degradation that the country is experiencing, Russia is still a super-power
There are just few people who know that Lieutenant-General Vladimir Grigorkin made a considerable contribution into Russia's might. Like hundreds of people of this kind, this man spent his best years in the Siberian woods and Central Asia deserts where the nuclear shield was being created for the country.

The Energia-Buran project was the greatest one in which Vladimir Grigorkin participated. He still feels proud to speak about his participation in the project. "Now this well-known but still classified program is widely criticized. I would like to emphasize that the performance capability of the Energia-Buran project surpasses its American analogue, space shuttle. Soviet developers of the project designed it with such innovations that it would even today be considered a technological wonder.

I would also like to return an objection to those people who like to criticize the domestic defense establishment and say that Soviet experts were successfully working on laser weapons. As for this sphere, Russia is considerably ahead of the US."

With the help of the Energia rocket and the Buran orbital ship, we could have launched even military stations of different types. If we had done this, would have the Pentagon risked unleashing a war at any moment?

more...
http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/87/348/10819_space.html

This article is fascinating it talks about Nato and Russia is very
insecure with it creeping on its borders. But it has missiles called "Satans"(named by our military) that can total make a anti missile defense USELESS. Russia is advancing steadily and has over taken us in the Space Race. They are developing Laser weaponry
and will continue because they don't trust BUSH!:bounce:

[Nottingham]

1. I'll add one more thing with a Asteroid coming at us! We might

want Russia to have a good Space Program! :bounce:

especially when ours is a mess right now!

[tlb]

2. USSR was working on military lasers for at least 20 years

and the NMD isn't aimed at Russia. What has that to do with Bush ?

Military research continues in the major powers as a matter of course. Get a grip.

[Capt_Nemo]

3. Problem is that they BANKRUPT themselves in the process of

making all these toys.

They were much too proud to go for an assymetric response and
wanted to have all the toys the americans had. That got their country,
whose GDP was 1/4 of the US, ruined.
Yeah, really good strategic planning... :eyes:

And what did that do for their civilian industrial/technological
infrastructure?
A big fat ZERO!

The irony is that the neo-con plans risk doing the same thing to the
US economy!