This is a chronology of known Soviet space shuttle development efforts. Most of this information came from the Almanac of Soviet Manned Space Flight, by Dennis Newkirk. Additional material from the files of D.R. Newkirk. 1940's - Soviets obtained three copies of the Sanger-Bredt Antipodal Bomber report, captured from the Germans. Middle 1950s - The Soviets were studying the possibility of a space plane bomber. Stalin tried to have Sanger kidnapped in France. Middle 1950s - A rumor was still circulating that they hoped to develop a space plane for launch around 1967, to counter the then planned U.S. Air Force X-20 Dynasoar. 1962 - The Soviets made atmospheric test flights of a plane similar to the X-20 in size and nicknamed Lapot. Designed by Gleb Lozino- Lozinskiy, the 50/50 shuttle would be launched, probably sub-orbital, by a super-sonic aircraft based on the Soviet SST. Lozino-Lozinskiy is currently a Chief Designer at the Molniya Scientific and Industrial Enterprise, the scientific production association which built the Buran, in the Tushino suburb of Moscow. 1965 - A jet powered version of the 50/50 space plane was flown by future chief Buran cosmonaut Igor Volk. Also drop tested from Tu-95 Bear bombers. 1960s - A photo shows cosmonauts Gagarin, Nikolayev, Popovich and Bykovskiy posing with a wind tunnel model of a delta wing shuttle type craft. 1969 - Soviet work on orbital rocket planes was also stopped by Marshal Grechko, the Minister of Defense. 1974 - Soviet shuttle development announced by Aleksey Leonov at the IAF conference. 1974 - Soviet space programs new Chief Designer, Valentin Glushko cancels Lunar Landing program in favor of shuttle development. The 1960's 50/50 shuttle program was reactivated and proceeded until around 1978 when the design was dropped in favor of the Buran design. The Lapot now would be launched by the new SL-16 booster. Middle 1970's - The Soviets, conducted landing tests of the 1960's shuttle design, using a Tu-95 Bear bomber as a carrier aircraft at a remote site. Dec. 15, 1976 - Kosmos 881/882 First shuttle test flight Kosmos 881 and 882 were two 10,000 kg. Lapot space planes that were launched on the same D-1h booster. Analysis found that the fight seems to have required dawn, during the gliding portion of the flight, prior to landing. The only comment from US government observers was that the flight was definitely man related. Aug. 5, 1977 - Kosmos 997/998A * Failed It was reported that a Proton booster launch failed, carrying a dual payload similar to the Kosmos 881/882 flight. 1978 - Shuttle landing runway (4.5 km. long, and 84 meters wide, and 48 cm. thick) was completed northwest of the Baykonur N-I type launch complexes and was connected to the N-I assembly buildings by wide roadways. General Beregovoy, cosmonauts Popovich, Filipchenko, Shonin, Khrunov and others all made statements confirming development of a reusable shuttle was underway, and that they were not going to be left behind by the US. A group of cosmonauts was formed to fly the space shuttle. They included Boroday, Stankavichyus, Levchenko, Shchukin, Bachurin, Balandin, and Volk. Mar. 30, 1978 - Kosmos 997/998B The Kosmos 997 and 998 flight was the same as Kosmos 881/882 flight in late 1976. Again, the landing was at about the same time and lighting conditions as the previous test. Oct. 1978 - Radio Moscow reported on the development of a space shuttle with a wing span of 8.5 meters, very similar to the 1960's Lapot design. May 23, 1979 - Kosmos 1100/1101 Last test flight of the small shuttle design. This flight was the same as the Kosmos 881/882 and 997/998B flights except that one of the spacecraft made two orbits before reentry and landing. June, 1980 - Vladimir Shatalov stated simply that reusable spacecraft had been studied, but were not economically justified yet considering more proven methods. Numerous others in the Soviet space program made statements confirming that the well tested Salyut-Soyuz systems would continue to be used until the middle1990s. In light of an impending US shuttle launch, the Soviets ended all public talk of a reusable space plane as they reoriented their program and adopted the Buran design. 1980 - The orbiter was reportedly observed by a U.S. KH-11 reconnaissance satellite, during captive flight tests using one of two specially modified Bison bomber, VM-T carrier aircraft, despite Soviet practices to hide the sensitive operations. The modified bomber was chosen as an interim solution. The wings were strengthened, the tail replaced, and the engines uprated, but a modified An-124 was expected to be used in the future for shuttle and booster transport. 1982 - Soviet officials again started to talk of reusable spacecraft, stating that in a few years, Soviet shuttle activity would be more apparent and flight tests would begin around 1986. June 3, 1982 - Kosmos 1374 Buran Development Flight This was the first of flights of Lapot space plane models, designated BOR-4, that are sometimes referred to as Kosmolyot's. They were launched from Kapustin Yar, by the C-1 booster. These flights were flights to test reentry heat shield technology for the Buran shuttle. Along with the Soviet ships was an Australian Orion patrol plane which photographed the recovery operation. March 15, 1983 - Kosmos 1445 Buran Development Flight This flight was the same type as Kosmos 1374. Detailed pictures of the spacecraft were again obtained by Australian aircraft. March, 1983 - An orbiter was also photographed by a US reconnaissance satellite just before the VM-T (Bison) carrier plane ran off a runway and required two days to move. July 4, 1983 - Sub-Orbital B-5 Buran Development Flight A new scale model of the Buran design, designated B-5, was tested during reentry on this flight. Five other suborbital flights of this type were reported by Aviation Week magazine. Middle 1980s - Buran type orbiters were under construction. Dec. 27, 1983 - Kosmos 1517 Buran Development Flight This flight was the same as the Kosmos 1445 flight. It reached an altitude of 180 * 221 km @ 50.6!, but instead of landing in the Indian Ocean, the space plane landed in Black Sea to avoid picture taking by Australian ocean patrol aircraft as during the recovery of Kosmos 1445. Dec. 19, 1984 - Kosmos 1614 Buran Development Flight This was the last orbital flight of the series begun by Kosmos 1374. Dec. 1984 - The atmospheric test orbiter, the GLI-Buran (GLI for horizontal flight test), was rolled out of the integration facility at Baykonur around Dec. 1984. It was equipped with four 9,090 kg. thrust Lyulka jet engines. Two engines were installed next to the base of the tail and two on both sides of the boat tail section. The Soviets had intended to install the jets on the first shuttle orbiter, and built the first few test vehicles and models with two jet engines before removing them from the final design. The jets on the test orbiters were being used to fly the orbiter as a conventional aircraft for its approach and landing tests. The jets lifted the orbiter to an altitude of 5-6000 meters to make a gliding approach and landing. For these manned tests, the orbiter carried two crewman in ejection seats. The cargo bay was equipped with fuel tanks to supply the jet engines. July 17, 1984 - Soyuz T-12 First Shuttle Cosmonaut Flight. A routine flight launched to Salyut 7 crewed by Vladimir Dzhanibekov, Svetlana Savitskaya, and Igor Volk. Cosmonaut Volk was later announced as the cosmonaut in charge of shuttle flight testing in 1987. His program of research for the flight was somewhat different then usual. He exercised very little and took medical preparations to reduce the effects of adaptation to weightlessness. Volk performed tests of his flying skills after landing as a part of the Soviet shuttle research program. All these activities were investigations into how well cosmonauts could fly a space shuttle after a period of weightlessness in orbit. This was not clear at the time of the flight, but the description of his purpose on the mission was identical to that of the future Soyuz TM-4 mission of Soviet shuttle test pilot Levchenko. Nov. 10, 1985 - The first manned atmospheric test flight of the GLI- Buran (GLI for horizontal flight test) was made by Volk and Stankavichyus lasting 12 minutes. Jan. 3, 1986 - Second shuttle atmospheric test flight lasts 36 minutes. Spring, 1986 - US satellite imagery reportedly showed that the VM-T ( Bison) carrier plane and a shuttle orbiter ran off the runway at Baykonur, no significant damage visible. May 27, 1986 - Third atmospheric test flight was made followed by 21 more flights in the first series. Dec. 1986 - The first automatic landing was made,16 flights in this first series were landed in fully automatic mode. There were also reports stating that an orbiter was attached to an Energia booster on the launch pad for fit checks. April, 1987 - The Soviets officially confirmed that they were developing a shuttle. Until then the words Buran and shuttle were officially top secret and banned from all public discussion. Although as early as February, 1982, a minor official announced the shuttle program. 1987 - Soviets admitted that the Energia had been developed by a military design bureau. May 11, 1987 - General Secretary Gorbachev visited the Baykonur Cosmodrome and inspected equipment for the Buran and the new Energia booster. May 15, 1987 - Energia 1 First launch of shuttle booster (K type) The booster carried only a test satellite payload with its upper stage pods. The strap-on boosters comprising the first stage were jettisoned in pairs, after 2.5 minutes. The core stage fired for nine minutes, when it reached an altitude of 80 to 95 km. at an inclination of 65!. After separating from the core, the orientation system for the upper stage pods failed and they fired in the wrong direction to place the payload carrier into orbit. The core stage, and the upper stage and payload reentered and burned up over the Pacific ocean. This was detected by U.S. early warning satellites as a hugh fireball, lasting longer than a normal destructive reentry, possibly indicating that a full weight 100,000 kg. test article was the payload. Late 1987 - The second test flight of the Energia was postponed due to the problems encountered by the first launch and due to the fact that the first launch heavily damaged the launch pad and its underground bunker. It was reported by Aviation Week that a U.S. KH-11 reconnaissance satellite photographed the second Energia booster placed on the launch pad and removed again. Dec. 21, 1987 - Soyuz TM-4 Second Shuttle Cosmonaut Flight Crew consisted of Vladimir Titov, Musa Manarov, and Anatoliy Levchenko. Levchenko was a cosmonaut from the space shuttle program. His assignment to the flight was to familiarize himself with spaceflight and to test his flying abilities immediately after landing. In both the U.S. and USSR, there was a little concern that a shuttle pilots physical state might degrade over a week or longer flight, and that they might loose some flying proficiency. In preparations for the first Soviet shuttle flight, Lyakhov would test methods to avoid the problem. On Dec. 29, the TM-3 spacecraft undocked carrying Romanenko, Alexandrov and Levchenko. Within 30 minutes of landing, Levchenko was piloting a TU- 154 to Moscow to test his flying abilities. From there, he returned to Baykonur to rejoin the crew for a press conference the next day. January, 1988 - Glavcosmos officials stated that final preparations for a shuttle launch were underway on the second flight of the Energia. March, 1988 - rumors circulated that a US photo-reconnaissance satellite detected an Energia booster being placed on the launch pad and then it was removed. The Soviets acknowledged that they were testing an retesting systems for the shuttle launch. The booster was being tested with launch pad systems to insure there would be fewer problems when the shuttle was taken to the pad. April 15, 1988 - Last in the first series of atmospheric test flights of the GLI-Buran type shuttle. April 29, 1988 - The Soviets announced that their shuttle would be launched shortly on an Energia booster. May, 1988 - The chairman of Glavkosmos stated that the second Energia launch would carry the Soviet shuttle and that it would be the only Energia launch of the year. August, 1988 - Doctors discovered that shuttle pilot Levchenko had a brain tumor that required emergency surgery. Levchenko subsequently died, and twelve days later, and on Aug. 18, another shuttle pilot, Anatoly Shchukin died while flying a one seat Su-26M aerobatic stunt plane. September, 1988 - Radio Moscow reported that cosmonauts were undergoing shuttle training in simulators, practicing takeoff, maneuvering and landing, fuelling rumors that a manned flight might be attempted soon. Vladimir Dzhanibekov reported that there were six cosmonauts in training for the two positions on the first manned flight of the shuttle, whenever it would occur. Actually there were more shuttle at the time pilots including Stankavichyus, Tolboyyev, Sultanov, Zabolotskiy, Tresvyatskiy, Sheffer, Volk, and two others. September, 1988 - Rumors circulated that US a photo- reconnaissance satellite had detected the Soviet shuttle being moved to a launch pad. Oct. 29, 1988 - At 7:30 A.M., as the Soviet shuttle countdown proceeded into its final hours, a fault occurred in the ignition system which required the countdown to be delayed for four hours. After recycling the countdown, the count continued to T minus 51 seconds when it was stopped again because the crew access platform did not retract as fast as expected. The access platform should have retracted in three seconds, but required 38 seconds. The design of the hinge mechanism for the platform was said to be inadequate. Nov. 15, 1988 - VKK-1 First test flight of Buran Shuttle Lift-off occurred on schedule at 6:00 A.M.. After 2.75 minutes, the strap-on boosters were jettisoned in pairs as their propellant was depleted at 60 km. altitude. The core stage shutdown eight minutes after launch and separated from the orbiter at 160 km. altitude. Two and a half minutes after separation, the orbiter fired its orbital maneuvering engines for 67 seconds to boost the trajectory to about 250 km. and avoid falling into the atmosphere. Over the Pacific at 6:47 A.M., the orbiter made another maneuver for 42 seconds circularizing the orbit to 252 * 256 km.. Buran carried a cylindrical module mounted in the cargo bay, similar to the Kvant 1 module. The second time over the South Pacific, the orbiter turned its tail into the direction of flight and performed retrofire at 8:20 A.M.. The orbiter then turned around and coasted toward reentry. The orbiter touched the fringes of the upper atmosphere at 122 km. altitude. For the next 20 minutes, the orbiter was in radio blackout. As the orbiter flew through about 40 km. altitude it had completed altering its flight path to the East by about 1000 km. to head toward the Baykonur Cosmodrome. As the orbiter approached the ground, there was a cross wind of 55 km per hour (34 mph) which was well above acceptance values for NASA shuttle landings. The orbiter touched down at 9:25 A.M., traveling about 180 knots (207 mph) with the main landing gear was only 1.5 meters from the runway center line. Nov, 1988 - French President Mitterrand and his delegation was shown the shuttle orbiter Buran and an Energia booster while at the cosmodrome for the TM-7 launch. Late 1988 - First flight of the An-225, a lengthened, six engine, split tail version of the An-124 which was designed to carry complete shuttle orbiters and booster segments. It could lift 200,000 kg. over 4500 km., almost twice as much as the US C-5B cargo plane. June, 1989 - Buran was flown to the Paris air show on the new An-225 carrier aircraft for display. After returning, Buran was dissassembled at Baykonur to examine its systems after flight. Late 1989 - The decision was made to build only three orbiters after the shuttle program was scaled back. This was due to financial and programmatic difficulties with other programs. The Mir program had been delayed for years with late delivery of its expansion modules. This delayed the start of work on the Mir 2 station for which the shuttle was originally intended. With no immediate need, the shuttle program was cut. At the time, the first and second orbiters were at Baykonur and the third was still under final assembly at Tushino. Late 1989 - Igor Volk announced that approach and landing tests would resume soon using the jet equipped GLI-Buran. Jan. 1990 - Soviet news announces that next shuttle flight in early 1991 will dock to the Mir space station. The third shuttle mission would be manned and take place 6 months afterwards, according to Shatalov.