“I think because space shuttles are known around the world. There are no restrictions it’s just you and the ruin.” “These are places where you can touch history. You never know what is waiting for you around the next corner or through the next door. There is a sense of mystery in these places. “I like a variety of man-made or underground places that people have left. You describe yourself as an “urban explorer” what does that involve? “I would like to see the hangar, with shuttles and equipment inside, become a museum.” What do you think should be done with the shuttles? “However, I did not know what state they would be in, and didn’t know about the other equipment inside the hangar.” I had read about it in books on the history of Soviet space exploration. “Yes, seeing the shuttles and rocket was the main purpose of my trip to Baikonur. We spoke to the urban explorer about his remarkable find.ĭid you already know what was inside these buildings?
In another lifetime, these prototypes are thought to have been part of the Soviets’ Buran Program, which began in 1974 and was discontinued in 1993.įor Mirebs, a lecturer in computer programming and longtime space enthusiast, it was the discovery of a lifetime. Indeed, when 36-year-old Russian photographer Ralph Mirebs discovered the derelict shuttles and rocket at Baikonur Cosmodrome, he was touched by the sad end for these “wonderful winged machines.” With their broken windows, missing tiles and ransacked interiors, these shuttles are a haunting – and fascinating – piece of space history, rarely seen by the outside world. What was once the gleaming pride and joy of the Soviet space program now lies covered in dirt and bird droppings in a disused hangar in Kazakhstan.
0 kommentar(er)
