# Baikonur Cosmodrome (DD-570)

> Buran was the Soviet Union's reusable spaceplane, built in response to the US Space Shuttle and launched on the Energia rocket. The orbiter Buran (1K) flew once, uncrewed, on November 15, 1988. It lifted off from Baikonur, circled Earth twice in 3 hours 25 minutes and landed automatically on the cosmodrome's runway. Funding dried up as the Soviet Union broke apart, and the program was suspended in 1993. The flown orbiter didn't survive. It was stored in Baikonur's main assembly building, MIK 112, which was originally built for the N1 Moon rocket. On May 12, 2002, the roof collapsed during repair work, killing eight workers and destroying Buran along with Energia hardware. The craft in the famous photos are two others, kept in a separate Assembly and Fueling Complex (MZK) at Site 112A. According to RussianSpaceWeb, the MZK is 150 m long, 80 m wide and 70 m high. Inside are orbiter 1.02, the second flight article, which was about 95–97% complete and never flew, and OK-MT, an engineering mockup. Both were moved there in 1995. Their doors later jammed, and RussianSpaceWeb calls the building a sarcophagus for both vehicles. Wikipedia, citing CNN, reports that a Russian-Kazakh company, Aelita, has owned them since 2005. Baikonur is in Kazakhstan. Under a 1994 agreement, Russia leases the whole Baikonur complex for $115 million a year, and the lease has since been extended to 2050. The footage looks down on an orbiter between rusting work platforms in the MZK, then shows the hall and the vehicles from the side.

- Department: Space (also History, Locations)
- First published: 2025-05-14
- Last updated: 2025-05-14
- Permalink: https://detailenjoyer.com/case/baikonur-cosmodrome/
- Author: Marcus Easterling (DetailEnjoyer), The Detail Department

## On the timeline

- **Nov. 15, 1988**: Buran's only spaceflight: two orbits and an automatic landing
- **1993**: The Buran program is suspended
- **1994**: Russia and Kazakhstan sign the Baikonur lease ($115 million a year)
- **1995**: Orbiter 1.02 and the OK-MT mockup are moved into the MZK
- **May 12, 2002**: The MIK 112 roof collapses, destroying the flown Buran and killing eight workers

Full timeline: https://detailenjoyer.com/timeline/?case=baikonur-cosmodrome

## Quick facts

- **DD-570-F01**: The Buran orbiter made one uncrewed flight, on November 15, 1988. _(Write-up · Exhibit A (One flight))_
- **DD-570-F02**: Russia leases Baikonur from Kazakhstan until 2050. _(Write-up · Exhibit E (Leased land))_

## Write-up

The Soviet shuttle left behind. A never-flown Buran orbiter still sits in a sealed Baikonur hangar.

1. **One flight**: Buran flew once, uncrewed, on November 15, 1988, and landed automatically.
2. **Suspended**: The program was suspended in 1993 as the Soviet Union broke apart.
3. **Roof collapse**: The flown orbiter was destroyed when the MIK 112 roof collapsed on May 12, 2002.
4. **In the MZK**: The orbiters in the famous photos are 1.02, which never flew, and the OK-MT mockup.
5. **Leased land**: Russia leases the Baikonur complex from Kazakhstan for $115 million a year until 2050.

## Related case files

- [On A Glide (DD-615)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/on-a-glide/): How the US Space Shuttle, Buran's counterpart, landed
- [Mount Bokty (DD-706)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/mount-bokty/): Another case set in Kazakhstan
- [Starbase (DD-582)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/starbase/): I paired it with another launch site that grew its own town
- [Duga (DD-592)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/duga/): I linked it because the experimental Duga tracked launches from Baikonur
- [Deluge Days (DD-594)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/deluge-days/): I linked another launch site with its own infrastructure

## Reel vs. record

- **Note**: 'Two Buran orbiters and several prototypes were left': the orbiter that flew in 1988 was destroyed in the May 12, 2002 roof collapse of MIK 112, which killed eight workers. The two in the famous photos are orbiter 1.02, which never flew, and the OK-MT engineering mockup.
- **Note**: 'With one inside the MZK assembly building': both are inside the MZK, Baikonur's Assembly and Fueling Complex at Site 112A, where they were moved in 1995.
- **Note**: 'Often called the world's largest hangar': the MZK is about 150 by 80 by 70 m (RussianSpaceWeb). That's huge, but the 'world's largest' label isn't supported.
- **Note**: 'Cancelled in the early 1990s': the program was suspended in 1993. The second and third flight orbiters were never completed.
- **Missing**: the one flight lasted 3 hours 25 minutes, with two orbits and a fully automatic landing. Baikonur is in Kazakhstan, and Russia leases the complex for $115 million a year under a lease extended to 2050.

## Video: Baikonur Cosmodrome: The Soviet Shuttle Left Behind

- Duration: 25.8 s · Published: 2025-05-14
- File: https://detailenjoyer.com/assets/videos/DJodGEXRq0M.mp4

### Transcript

DID YOU KNOW? Deep in the Kazakh Steppe, the Baikonur Cosmodrome holds the decaying remains of the Soviet Buran space shuttle program. After the Soviet Union's collapse, two Buran orbiters and several prototypes were left inside enormous, crumbling hangars at the site. The most famous images show the orbiters covered in dust surrounded by rusting scaffolding, with one inside the MZK assembly building, often called the world's largest hangar. The Buran program was cancelled in the early 1990s after just one uncrewed flight in 1988. NOW YOU KNOW!

## Questions & answers

**Q: When did Buran make its only spaceflight?**  
A: On November 15, 1988, with no crew aboard. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (One flight) · Wikipedia: Buran programme)_

**Q: How did Buran land after its flight?**  
A: On Baikonur's runway, after two orbits. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (One flight) · Wikipedia: Buran programme)_

**Q: What happened to the orbiter that flew?**  
A: MIK 112's roof collapsed on May 12, 2002. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (One flight) · Wikipedia: Buran programme)_

**Q: Which country does Baikonur sit in?**  
A: Russia leases it. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit B (Suspended) · Wikipedia: Buran programme)_

**Q: Until when does Russia's Baikonur lease run?**  
A: At $115 million a year. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit B (Suspended) · Wikipedia: Buran programme)_

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Buran programme](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_programme)
- [RussianSpaceWeb (Anatoly Zak): Energia-Buran processing complex at Site 112 and 112A](https://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_energia_112.html)
- [RIA Novosti (in Russian): Baikonur lease to 2050 enters into force (August 4, 2021)](https://ria.ru/20210804/baykonur-1744391874.html)
- [Interfax: Kazakhstan not to change terms of Baikonur lease](https://www.interfax-russia.ru/military/news_eng/423654)

## Cite this case file

Easterling, Marcus. "Baikonur Cosmodrome." The Detail Department (DetailEnjoyer), case file DD-570, last updated May 14, 2025. https://detailenjoyer.com/case/baikonur-cosmodrome/