''Ptichka'' (russian: Птичка, "little bird";

GRAU The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (), commonly referred to by its transliterated Russian acronym GRAU (), is a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is subordinate to the ...

index

serial number A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it. Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...

11F35 2K, Article 1.02 or OK-1.02)

was a nickname for the second ''Buran''-class orbiter, produced as part of the Soviet/Russian

Buran programme The ''Buran'' program (russian: Буран, , "Snowstorm", "Blizzard"), also known as the "VKK Space Orbiter program" (russian: ВКК «Воздушно-Космический Корабль», lit=Air and Space Ship), was a Soviet and later R ...

. Although OK-1.02 was closest to being completed of any of the ''Buran''-class orbiters (after the orbiter ''Buran''), it was never finished. The program was officially cancelled in 1993, at which point the shuttle was 95-97% complete. The proposed official name for OK-1.02 was ''Burya'' (russian: Буря, "storm" or "tempest").Buran vehicles registry
/ref>

Projected flights

''Ptichka'' was preparing for its maiden flight to perform the first fully regular ''Buran''-class orbiter operation. (The flight of ''Buran'' 11F35 1K Article 1.01 was lacking regular thermal control and power systems.) This orbiter was also planned to receive a remote manipulator and docking system. As of 1989 the orbital flight test program for the second orbiter was split into two missions, with a space station approach test on the second, but delays in preparations changed the plans to perform all test tasks in one maiden flight, scheduled for December 1991. The mission profile included: * unmanned launch * automatic docking with ''

Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...

'''s ''

Kristall The Kristall (russian: Кристалл, , Crystal) (77KST, TsM-T, 11F77T) module was the fourth module and the third major addition to '' Mir''. As with previous modules, its configuration was based on the 77K (TKS) module, and was originally n ...

'' module. * crew transfer from ''Mir'' to the spaceplane, with onboard systems testing in course of twenty-four hours. * remote manipulator testing * undocking and autonomous flight in orbit * Manned

Soyuz TM The Soyuz-TM were fourth generation (1986–2002) Soyuz spacecraft used for ferry flights to the Mir and ISS space stations. The Soyuz spacecraft consisted of three parts, the Orbital Module, the Descent Module and the Service Module. The first ...

No.101 docking to the orbiter. * crew transfer from the Soyuz to the spaceplane and on board work in the course of twenty-four hours * automatic undocking and landing

After program cancellation

In August 1995, OK-1.02 was moved into storage within the MZK building (Russian: МЗК, Монтажно-Заправочный Комплекс, Assembling and Fueling Facility) at

Baikonur Cosmodrome ''Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy'' rus, Космодром Байконур''Kosmodrom Baykonur'' , image = Baikonur Cosmodrome Soyuz launch pad.jpg , caption = The Baikonur Cosmodrome's "Gagarin's Start" Soyuz ...

, alongside the full size test article OK-MT.

Ownership

The ownership of OK-1.02 and its sister ship '' Buran'' has been contested since the fall of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, with the director of

Roscosmos The State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" (russian: Государственная корпорация по космической деятельности «Роскосмос»), commonly known simply as Roscosmos (russian: Роскосмос) ...

Dmitry Rogozin attesting that he had tried to purchase ''Buran'' and return it to Russia, but became entangled in legal disputes on its true owner. The contractor for the ''Buran'' space programme, RSC Energia, had set up a subsidiary CJSC Energia to manage its overseas assets in 2004, which were then transferred to RSE Infrakos in 2004 and relinquished to JSC KRISP Aelita, a joint Russian-Kazakh company. Kazakh businessman Dauren Musa asserted ownership of OK-1.02 in 2011 after purchasing the company's shares, which was disputed by the Kazakh government, but reaffirmed by the country's court after litigation proceedings. With the ''Buran'' destroyed in 2002, OK-1.02 is considered valuable as the last of its kind, and Musa has offered to trade the spacecraft in return for the skull of Kazakhstan's last

khan Khan may refer to: *Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan *Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...

Kenesary Kasymov. Kasymov had been beheaded in 1847 and his skull sent to Russia, but his skull remains missing today, with Russia denying knowledge of its location.

2021 graffiti incident

In April 2021, OK-1.02 was vandalized with

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

, including the word ''dobro'' (russian: добро, meaning "good") on the right side of the orbiter. Photos of the graffiti surfaced on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

and

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

on May 26 of that year, though by that time the orbiter had already been painted over. According to

NASASpaceFlight.com ''NASASpaceflight.com'' is a private news website and forum which launched in 2005, covering Human spaceflight, crewed and Uncrewed spacecraft, uncrewed spaceflight and aerospace engineering news. Its original reporting has been referenced by v ...

, there is evidence that

may have known about the vandalism and decided to cover it up. The vandalism caused distress to many space enthusiasts. Roscosmos also expressed concern and expressed its belief that the ''Buran'' hardware at Baikonur Cosmodrome should be transferred to a museum, and that it would discuss the issue at the next Intergovernmental Kazakh-Russian Commission. Dauren Musa, the current owner of the orbiter, also expressed his concern about the state of the hardware, and stated that he would discuss the fate of his orbiters with Roscosmos. NASASpaceFlight noted that the vandalism may have benefited the orbiters by drawing attention to their condition.

References

External links