boosters but the main tank was fueled at launch site. Buran was intended to carry a crew of up to ten, the Shuttle carried up to eight in the largest crewed mission normally between five and seven people in most missions and would have carried more only in a contingency. Buran has a different carbon-carbon heat tile layout in its underside, in which all gaps between heat tiles are parallel or perpendicular to the direction of airflow through the orbiter. See also MAKS (spacecraft) - Soviet air-launched spaceplane concept Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-105 – Soviet spaceplane test program Space Shuttle program - American spaceplane program Tupolev OOS - Soviet air-launched spaceplane concept References Bibliography External links Buran.ru, official website by NPO Molniya Buran.ru unofficial space encyclopedia (ru) Buran at Encyclopedia Astronautica Buran and Energia at Buran-Energia.com Buran at RussianSpaceWeb.com Buran: The Soviet Space Shuttle Success Story at TASS 1974 establishments in the Soviet Union 1993 disestablishments in Russia Crewed spacecraft Myasishchev aircraft Partially reusable space launch vehicles Rocket-powered aircraft Spaceplanes