BOR-4 explained
The BOR-4 (БОР-4 Russian: Беспилотный Орбитальный Ракетоплан 4, Russian: Bespilotnyi Orbital'nyi [[Raketoplan]] 4, "Unpiloted Orbital Rocketplane 4") flight vehicle is a scaled (1:2) prototype of the Soviet Spiral VTHL (vertical takeoff, horizontal landing) spaceplane. An uncrewed, subscale spacecraft, its purpose was to test the heatshield tiles and reinforced carbon-carbon for the Buran space shuttle, then under development.[1]
Several of them were built and flown between 1982 and 1984 from the Kapustin Yar launch site at speeds of up to Mach 25, using K65-RB5 variant of Kosmos-3M launch vehicle.[2] After reentry, they were designed to parachute to an ocean splashdown for recovery by the Soviet Navy. The testing was nearly identical to that carried out by the US Air Force ASSET program in the 1960s, which tested the heatshield design for the X-20 Dyna-Soar. On 16 March 1983 a Royal Australian Air Force P-3 Orion reconnaissance aircraft captured the first Western images of the craft as it was recovered by a Soviet ship near the Cocos Islands.[3]
Flights
Seven BOR were built, and four confirmed flights took place between 1982 and 1984.[4] [5] All orbital flights were launched using Kosmos-3M rockets at the Kapustin Yar launch complex in Astrakhan Oblast, Russia[6]
BOR-4 test flights! Mission! Launch date
(UTC)! Landing date
(UTC)! Recovery site! Orbit! Duration
(in orbit)! Outcome| Kosmos 1374 | 3 June 1982
21:36 | 3 June 1982
23:04 | -17°N 98°W
Indian Ocean | 158 x 204 km | | [7] |
|---|
| Kosmos 1445 | 15 March 1983
22:33 | 16 March 1983
00:25 | Indian Ocean | 158 x 208 km | | |
|---|
| Kosmos 1517 | 27 December 1983
10:04 | 27 December 1983
11:46 | Black Sea | 212 x 217 km | | |
|---|
| Kosmos 1614 | 19 December 1984
04:04 | 19 December 1984
05:26 | Black Sea | 174 x 223 km | | . Spacecraft lost at sea during recovery | |
|---|
Current locations
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Grayzeck. Edwin.J.. NASA - National Space Science Data Center - Spacecraft - Details: Cosmos 1517. NSSDC Master Catalog. National Aeronautics & Space Administration. 16 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221219171912/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1983-125A . 19 December 2022 . live .
- Web site: K65-RB5 . 2024-05-14 . Gunter's Space Page . en.
- News: They're Trying to Make a Dream Come True . 23 June 2011 . Jim . Hodges . The Researcher News . . https://web.archive.org/web/20220503012603/https://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/features/hl20-recognition.html . 3 May 2022 . live .
- Web site: Petrovitch . Vassili . BOR Characteristic . buran-energia.com . 12 February 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220928134857/https://www.buran-energia.com/bor/bor-carac.php . 28 September 2022 . live.
- Web site: Bauduin . Pierre . Unmanned Orbital Rocket Planes type "BOR" . Weebau Spaceflight Encyclopedia . 12 February 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210116114226/http://weebau.com/satcosmos/bor.htm . 16 January 2021 . 3 March 2007 . live.
- Web site: BOR-4 . 30 May 2024 . www.astronautix.com . Encyclopedia Astronautica . Mark Wade .
- Book: Turnill . Reginald . Jane's Spaceflight Directory . August 1987 . . 0710608381.
- Web site: BOR: Où les voir ? . kosmonavtika . 12 February 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210123141315/http://www.kosmonavtika.com/vaisseaux/bor/visite/visite.html . 23 January 2021 . fr . live . BOR: Where to see them? .
