Spacelab-type missions

Among the autonomous missions would have been flights with Spacelab-type modules installed in Buran’s cargo bay. NPO Energiya had plans for a so-called “Laboratory Compartment’’ (LO) (index 14F33) that was reportedly based on the 37KB design. This would be connected to the crew compartment by a special tunnel. Such flights would have lasted anywhere from 9 to 30 days and be devoted to scientific, materials-processing, and biotechnological experiments, which take a relatively long time to produce the necessary results. The longest missions would have required the installation of an extra cryo kit for the fuel cells. Buran was also seen as an ideal platform for long-duration unmanned materials-processing and biotechnology missions, benefiting from the undisturbed microgravity environment and the ample power provided by the fuel cells. A military version of the LO known as the Undetachable Useful Payload (NPG) was also considered, but its index 17F32 indicates that it was to be built on the basis of a different design and no further information on it is available [34].