[FPSPACE] Rare Photos of the Russian "Buran" Space Program

[Edwin Cameron]

Quoting Bart Hendrickx <bhen at scarlet.be>:

Ed Cameron wrote :

#2. Ptitchka was the name of the orbiter that was in preparation in July 1992.

> Ed, that's a myth that somehow keeps resurfacing. Ptichka ("Birdie")
> actually was a nickname for Soviet orbiters in general (just like a US
> Shuttle engineer might affectionately refer to an orbiter as "the bird").
> The second flight vehicle never had a name painted on it. In the press it
> was sometimes called "Buran-2", but to the best of my knowledge it
> was never officially named.
   
  Many thanks to Bart and Jakob for their insight and correction, and others as well.  The "myth" was most likely promoted, if not started, on Baikonur tours from within the hangar where we visited in July 1992.  The MIR docking adapter (APAS?) and the orbiter being processed for the "next flight" were in the hangar with many other test and handling articles, including the Buran which had flown.  The new orbiter sat minus its nose cap, and when asked about its name our guide told us that it was "Ptitchka, little bird."  This name (or unofficial nickname) I have written in the few original notes that the U.S. intelligence security investigators allowed me to keep.  Thanks again,
  Ed