Orbiter test-firing stand

This test stand is located outside not far from the MIK OK and was used for test firings of the ODU propulsion system (both maneuvering engines and thrusters) and the Auxiliary Power Units. Although these systems also underwent non-integrated tests at other locations in the Soviet Union, the Russians deemed it necessary (unlike

NASA) to conduct test firings with these systems installed on the vehicle. Such tests would not only have been conducted prior to the maiden mission of a new orbiter, but also after each mission, mainly to clean the internal plumbing. The test stand had its own propellant fueling systems [10].

Rocket Assembly and Test Facility (MIK RN/MIK 112)

The Energiya assembly building (11P591) was originally built for the assembly of the N-1 rocket in the 1960s. Measuring 190 x 240 m, the building accommodates five parallel bays, three high bays (heights given between 47 and 60 m) and two low bays (heights given between 27 and 30 m). Externally, the building hasn’t changed much since the N-1 days, but because of the fundamentally different design concepts of the N-1 and Energiya, the inside had to undergo a complete overhaul. Low bay 1 was used for assembly of the strap-on boosters, low bay 2 and high bay 3 for integration of the core stage, and high bays 4 and 5 for final assembly of the entire Energiya vehicle and mating with Buran. Bay 1 was operated by NPO Energiya’s ZEM factory, and the other bays by a branch of the Progress factory.

The strap-ons arrived at the cosmodrome in several sections: the modular part from Yuzhnoye in Dnepropetrovsk and the aft skirt, nose section, parachute containers, and other elements from ZEM in Kaliningrad. The core stage similarly required much work in the MIK RN, where engineers had to attach the tail section with its RD-0120 engines to the hydrogen tank and subsequently attach the hydrogen tank to the oxygen tank/intertank structure.

The final assembly process began with one left and one right strap-on being placed on a special stand, after which the core stage was inserted in between them. Subsequently, the remaining two strap-ons were placed on top of the others and in the final step Buran was lowered onto the core stage with a special crane. The rocket was attached to a mating unit (Blok-Ya) that connected pneumatic, hydraulic, and electrical systems on the launch vehicle with the launch complex. Measuring 20.25 x 11.5m and weighing 150 tons, the Blok-Ya was a massive struc­ture, containing 1,123 pipes with a total length of about 12km. Finally, a crawler transporter parked outside the building was placed under the structure to begin the roll-out [11].