A Man’s Risky Journey to Explore Soviet-Era Space Shuttle
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- čas přidán 11. 05. 2024
- An abandoned space shuttle site from the Soviet-era draws many urban explorers, even though it’s off limits to the public. Chris Luckhardt of Toronto is one person who risked getting caught by the Russian military to explore the decaying buildings and spacecraft that were left behind. He photographed his experience in detail and says he can only hope something will be done to preserve the site for space enthusiasts such as himself.
Bald and Bankrupt did this 2 years ago.
Edit: The photographer in the video explained in this thread that he made the trip 3 years before Bald and Bankrupt and that tgat is where Bald got the idea to go there.
My brother offered to bring this man to it but the bald man refused and got what was coming to him
@@josephhession7681 was your brother in the millitary?
Notice the eyebrows !
There is none .
* whispers …. Radiation !
lol, wasn't he also captured! hahaha
That’s who I thought they were talking about. But it’s not. Obviously lol
Hi, I'm the Canadian guy in the interview - ask me anything!
This footage is from my 2nd trip to the complex in the winter of 2022/23. My first trip was in the fall of 2019. One mistake in the editing - we crawled through the first floor window during the 2019 adventure, but had to do a huge 30ft climb into the building's upper floors for the footage featured here.
And I'm seeing a lot of commentary about Bald and Bankrupt. He went in the summer of 2022 because he learned from watch my first video and others before me.
How was it in good condition?
And why do they look like copyrighted shuttles fromthe US
@@silviahdez2950 Both shuttles have been sitting there unmaintained for 29 years, and the building was deemed as ready to collapse at any time.
Sounds like you saw cockpit. How many crew could fly? Could you see inside the shuttle's cargo bay?
@@captlazer5509 It was designed to hold up to 10 cosmonauts, but its only flight was autonomous. The cargo bay is visible through a hatch.
Anyone who does that for a living is baller in my books
I doubt anyone who knows me well would call me a baller, but thanks anyway lol
Extreme urbexer be like
@@borntoclimb7116 But it’s a desert lol
@@chrisluckhardt with a 20 kilometer hike and a nice steelhangar for lattice climbing
@@borntoclimb7116 Yeah, it’s a climb! This report mistakenly quoted my first trip when we climbed through a ground-level window. But all ground-level access points were sealed after the summer of 2022 so we had to climb up the side of the building in the dark. I wasn’t much of a climber so I trained to do it with our 20kg backpacks after the 12 hour 38km hike. Honestly it was kinda fun!
My dad helped build these structures during his time in the army. He was amazed once I sent him this video, thank you 🙏
Full length video is on my channel. Please show him that version and I’d love to hear his commentary!
And just like that, the guards on shift and all their families were never heard from again.
Idk if they kill families they’re not the cartels
Really... could it be that brutal?
No, those guys were sent to Ukraine!
. Look at this way. The current Russian Federation can't replicate the tech and it's a embarrassment to them. Far as the current government is concerned it likely wants them gone and buried and nothing more as Soviet achievements
it would be nice if these were in a museum
Fingers crossed that somebody will make it happen someday soon!
There’s one in a museum in Germany.
Awesome! Thank you for documenting this!
Thanks, full video is on my channel!
I can’t think of what to comment so I’ll just put 🚀
Same 🚀
You got balls man. Great journalism.
All that trouble and couldn't get inside? Imagine the time capsule in there!
I've seen photos and other videos. They're empty - just scaffolding and empty cockpits.
Bank&Bankrupt Ben did this years ago and arrested by the Russian police.
Exactly, this one didn’t get arrested. Kept his footage
Bald kept his
He did it a few months before my 2nd trip (featured in this video). He could've gotten down to the shuttles so easily and not been caught. But he's a tourist and not a real explorer. His other history is questionable as well...
@@chrisluckhardtu really hate the guy don’t you lmaoo
@@nicklrrueckert Why would I hate him or anyone? Hate is a negative emotion and reaction that benefits nobody.
This shuttle does not require human control from take-off to landing. It was a pioneering work at the time.
I’d fly a radiation ship to mars !🤣
BIGGEST MISTAKE MADE
Courtesy of USA 🇺🇸 Tech 🫡
Buran shuttles were an evolution of the US shuttles, in the same way a 1985 model car was an evolution of a 1975 model car. The Soviets improved on what existed.
That Energia booster was 100 tonnes to orbit.
Kool it's really isolated and beautiful scenery at night
Fun fact (an-225) used to carry that shuttle
Russia can't keep any nice things.... Damn Shame!!
It’s literally what the AN-225 was designed for.
@@calvinnickel9995 correct
Isn't there still a smaller one somewhere? A 125 model?
Well he's a pretty brave guy for doing that😮
Technically filmed a crime. Cool stuff though.
To the moon Alice!
Yes, it's a crime to leave a historically significant part of space exploration to rot in a hangar for 30 years! 🚀 Full video is on my channel.
@@chrisluckhardt right on
a crime committed against a fundamentally criminal country is like a double negative or something idk. they committed the crime of abandoning those spacecraft anyway
@@chrisluckhardt but then you wouldn't be exploring it? lo
Amazing
Buran was an extremely advanced spacecraft, it's a shame that the Soviet collapse doomed the project right before it was set to begin crewed flights.
Ptichka’s scheduled mission to Mir would’ve been amazing. Uncrewed launch and docking! _Warning: conspiracy theories in the comments below. They claim Buran never flew and was a direct copy. I purged my replies because it was a waste of time._
The design was mostly copied from the U.S space shuttle (keep in mind that NASA's research and technical documentation was publicly available at the time in the national archive if you knew what to look for).
The money the russians saved on developing their own design was invested in new technology that rendered the russian version of the space shuttle more advanced than its U.S counterpart. Too bad it never got out of the hangar.
@@chrisluckhardt you’re the one posting false information, boy.
@@chrisluckhardt such a well developped and argumented answer... Can't help noticing you did not answer me with any proof or source for your claims...
@@chrisluckhardt i gave you my source, you never provided anything else that your claims
Thats so cool.
Also whats with these awful comments?
CZcams commenters rarely exist on the positive side of the intelligence Bell curve. And one specific copycat CZcamsr’s fans seem to have flooded the comments claiming he went there first lol.
Cool! 👍🚀
Wow. Soo cool
I would dislike this see being destroyed this Soviet space shuttle looks serene directly.
What a cool story
Is this during Cold War ? Rise and Fall of Russia history ?
Thanks, full video is on my channel!
Very dangerous Journey
Many people have been there, several times.
YOUR PEOPLE
2019 there was high tourist season. My first hike in the fall of 2019 was during a weekend. I learned a guy was caught a couple days before us, and an American did it a few days after us! It's rare now - just a few people did it in the past year.
@@chrisluckhardt Let's see you try to get near Chernobyl.
I remember reading that Buran was destroyed when the building collapsed on top of it years ago. Is this old footage, or a different spaceship?
FYI, the technical museum in Speyer, Germany has a real prototype Buran on display.
Different ship - it’s the second of five that were being constructed. The one in the background was 95% complete.
@@chrisluckhardt Thanks for your reply. Must have been an awesome adventure to visit that place.
@@TheRocco96 It was so good I went twice!
This guy is a professional explorer who has been everywhere long before the other silly urbex vloggers and CZcamsrs like bald. He's a talented photo/videographer.
Many proffesionals use CZcams too
You got there… maybe you should have gone inside! Might not get another chance…
The video doesn't include the part of the interview when we discussed why we couldn't get into the shuttles. I wanted to get into the back shuttle - Pitchka, 95% complete - but patrols arrived just before our attempt. We hid for a while then climbed back to the upper floors as a precaution. We were running out of time to see the rocket, so we headed over to that building before sunset. During the first trip in 2019, my other partner caused some issues so I wanted to return in the winter of 2022/23 for this footage. The full video is on my channel.
I thought it was gonna be my guy bald
Same
Yep
Well he's also bald so...
Energia was a great rocket design...
cool would go there myselfe
Whoa, its the base from that level from Black Ops 1 in real life. 😱😳
The Soviet space shuttle was more advanced then the US space shuttle.
100% correct - it was an evolution of the US shuttle program. The revised 2nd generation Buran design (3rd orbiter) was 50% complete and and would’ve been the most advanced spacecraft ever built.
I read the building had partly. Collapsed around and onto the space shuttle.
That happened to the first Buran orbiter in 2002 in a different building.
All that stuff needs to be salvaged
To late the roof fell in 4 years ago
man risked his life and escaped being sent to the gulag.
PROPS 2 U
Chris, I admire your sand, but that was asking for trouble...
I couldnt have controlled myself and took one of thise tiles or something for a Suverneier.
Imagine explaining the tile while passing through airport customs!
"People want the shuttle to be saved..." But do people actually willing to chip in and buy it?
There is one at the Technik Museum Speyer in Germany you can go inside it I've been there.
With such collaboration amongst ALL Space agencies. They should work together and put them back into space.
Imagine if the U.S. Administration spent Billions on buying this Iconic Artifact for the Smithsonian Museum (any Museum) instead of wasted war-funds for Condos in Dubai?
This is an awesome story!
Thanks, full video is on my channel!
a couple of french guys did it last year, they released a great movie about it (hit the road on utube).
the authorities ll defo close soon the building, too much media attention to it
I know one of those guys, David. He’s been there more times than anyone else. I joke with him that it’s practically his second home! He took a fantastic photo of a rocket launch from the Energia rocket building.
1 to 2 years ago old but very very cool!
My first video is from October 2019. This video is from the winter of 2022/23.
Bald & Bankrupt did this and his footage was amazing and fun to watch. Highly recommend a watch. His whole channel is amazing
You might want to learn a little more about the guy’s and his history before promoting him.
@@chrisluckhardt I know all about him. I think he's funny af. I've seen most of his videos as well. I've even watched a few of what people claim about him. I'll make my own decisions.
@@richhoops2413 Someone notified me that Bald copied the trip, so I looked him up because I hadn't heard of him. What I found was disgusting.
@@chrisluckhardtI noticed you’ve deleted some of your other comments in this comment section.
@@chrisluckhardtI just realized your the man in the video. Well all be darn.
I have a Tile someone "acquired"
The space shuttle in LA is pretty small
OV-105 Endeavour, I assume.
I wouldn't go back. Take not being caught as a win. We don't want to see you on the news being sentenced to life in a Russian prison for being a "Spy" 🙄
Fun fact: the Buran shuttle was actually SUPERIOR to the Space Shuttle. It was more powerful, could carry a larger crew (I think), and could fly unmanned.
Yes, and Buran was designed to carry up to 10 cosmonauts
🥺
The one that's in the museum has jet engines on it.They flew it to random air shows in the Soviet Union.I'd just imagine what that was like to see that thing sitting there
That one is OK-GLI. Its home during test flights and air shows was the Gromov Flight Research Institute south of Moscow. It was sold and placed in an exhibit for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. It ended up in Germany around 15 years ago after a short and bizarre period in the Middle East.
Putin like how tf u let them in lol
Another hangar did collapse with a Buran inside.
It’s visible in the distance in these clips. It’s the distant building surrounded by lights.
Just come to germany, here you can see another Buran Space Shuttle in a Museum and even go inside of it...
It's not the same. OK-GLI isn't a real space shuttle that was engineered for orbit. The back shuttle in my video was 95% complete and scheduled for a mission to dock with the Mir space station.
@@chrisluckhardt There's no way you just answered my comment.. Omg... And yeah, it isn't the same but nearly. And even if it just was Prototyp, it's still very much like the real one from the in and outside, so when you look at them.
@@_DerVinny I'm keeping an eye on these comments to answer questions that my channel's videos cover. :) But I do want to see OK-GLI someday. Germany did an amazing restoration based on photos I've seen. I'm hoping sanity will prevail and Ptichka will be saved and restored to the same condition as OK-GLI. It's place in history means in deserves restoration!
@@chrisluckhardt We will welcome you here in germany and it's definitely worth to go to Speyer and Sinsheim, was there so often and it's always great. And going there and looking into the cockpit and the bay of OK-GLI is amazing! And yeah, it really deserves restoration and being put into a place where many people can see it
@@_DerVinny Amazing, thanks! I've seen Discovery and Atlantis, and any other space shuttle will be a treat too!
i would probably discover that rocket that looks legit intense & fast.
Bruh i meen right tho?
It's a prototype known as the Energia-M.
OK, I understand that it’s big but it does look to be a little smaller than the US shuttle. Seems petite.
i can't believe such a treasure is standing right there without any guards or even fences
Didn't watch the video?
In memory of Mikhail Gorbachev
4:28 Pavel Palazhchenko - official English-Russian interpreter ever lived
50 miles in 12 to 15 hours?
Maybe there was a cow in the road ! 🤣
Can you hike 50 miles faster at night in the desert during winter?
No its 25 miles in 15 hours then 25 miles back
That’s not the actual Buran shuttle that was used it’s actually a mock up the real Buran shuttle was destroyed in another building when the roof collapsed on it
It's the Ptichka shuttle and the OK-MT engineering mock-up. Ptichka was the 2nd Buran-class shuttle and 95% complete. The original Buran shuttle that reached orbit was destroyed in a 2002 roof collapse.
Riiiighhht
The first one you showed on your page is actually from Russia Soviet from NASA plain just like America, but Soviet one
Why doesn't someone try and get them to let us use them for space if their still useable
Bald and Bankrupt did this two years ago already. This guy is so far behind.
Bald copied me and others. My first trip was in October 2019 - three years before Bald. This video features footage from my 2nd trip in the winter of 2022/23.
@@chrisluckhardt "bald copied me" please shut up 🙏🙏
@@JoltyxPyikes 😬
@@explorationgmer1336 you're a weirdo 🤨
He’s not “behind”. It isn’t a race to be the first to explore abandoned places, my guy.
Any land mines?
None
Bro forgot to put his eyebrows on 🤣
Low-res Zoom is my nemesis lol
someone is on someones list
Santa’s naughty or nice lists. Guess which one…
Gee Boris that looks awfully familiar. I suppose the idea just came to you huh?
I started planning to go around 10 years ago after stumbling across a series of 2009 photos inside the shuttle building. A guy named Ralph Mirebs revealed their precise location in 2015 on his blog, and then I tried to go in early 2017. That trip didn't work out, but I was successful in 2019. I went back in the winter of 2022/23 for this extra footage.
Does he realize what they would do to him if he or anyone else got caught?
Yes, I know exactly what could happen.
What do you think would have happened if you got caught? I assume since they're catching people frequently, you'd just be sent home? We aren't particularly at war with the Russians, so they wouldn't have much incentive to keep you..
Look up Brittney Griner.
@@cleanriver2 Look up Bald and Bankrupt.
If only the US had designed the Shuttle like the Buran..
First! I love all ur vids
Didn’t that collapse a few years ago?
You’re thinking of the first Buran orbiter that was destroyed in a different building’s roof collapse in 2002.
i know what's your next move. Caspian Sea Monster?
You joke, but... 👀
@@chrisluckhardt Elephant's foot
Looks like Wyoming
New Mexico or Arizona is a closer match due to the vegetation.
Comparing this to Mount Everest is stupid
Why is that? It's just a metaphore indicating that for space shuttle enthusiasts, this is a top goal.
@@CranberryFothis! 👍
Those aren't my words - I've heard several "urban explorers" use that term.
@@chrisluckhardt I forgive you, I just wanted to stir up something in the comments, cool ass video tho
☝Wow ... I knew, that they have two Buran-like Shuttles in a hanger, but did not know that they have an Energija rocket in stock ...
Given the current political climate between the United States and Russia, don’t go into abandoned military bases and take pictures of old Soviet style space shuttle.
I'm Canadian and the other guy is British living in Japan.
Inside Edition needs more videos like this and less videos from the paparazzi.
Real content like this isn’t as common
Its the Buran Not a space shuttle.
It's a vehicle that was designed to shuttle people and cargo into space and back so it's not "the" NASA Space Shuttles but a type of space shuttle.
How to Ruin a State 101: Building a space shuttle program.
Reagan’s increased military budgets put immense pressure on the Soviet economy.
It is not a space shuttle. It is an unpowered re-entry glider.
Technically, that’s the US shuttles. They were gliders and some of the Buran shuttles included jet engines.
@@chrisluckhardt the shuttles had 2 million pounds of thrust from three engines plus the OMS
@@DrKnow-ye6rv Many of the Buran shuttles could take off under their own power. The US shuttles couldn't so they were often referred to as glorified gliders.
@@chrisluckhardt wrong. They had no engines. They rode on the back of energia. Stop being clueless.
@@DrKnow-ye6rv The Buran that orbited had no additional engines, that’s true. But OK-GLI had four jet engines and orbital vehicles were be prepared for turbojet installations. Most people aren’t aware of those details which is understandable.
Exploring with josh
Widely known as the Logan Paul of the exploring community 😂
@@chrisluckhardt tell me more
Their Vehicle Assembly Building is not nearly as impressive as ours.
This isn't their VAB. It's MZK, one of a few assembly buildings. NASA's VAB was a singular building and did everything the Soviets split into separate facilities.
This was discovered 5 years ago
I remember the first pictures in 2018-19
It’s been known to local scrappers for more than 20 years. The first photos surfaced from Russian explorers around 2007. The biggest media outlet to cover it first was CNN in 2015 when they got ahold of Ralph Mireb’s photos.
Must have got his inspiration from Ben aka “Bald and bankrupt” who found it and recorded it for the first time in decades!
You don't know that many people did the adventure years before Bald? My first time there was in 2019, three years before him. This was my 2nd trip. Several people did it before me as well and shared their photos and videos.
pretty sure bald has already been there
Yes, he went in the summer of 2022 which was 3 years after my first video. Ralph Mirebs was the first to widely document these space shuttles in 2015. We all followed his lead!
Didn't youtuber "bald and bankrupt" already do this like 2 years ago?
And I already did it 5 years ago. How do you think he got the idea? ;) This is when I returned in the winter of 2022/23.
that's bald and bankrupt's idea!
LOL, no. My 1st trip was in 2019. He went in 2022. This footage is from my return 6 months later during winter.
If Russia just spends funds to this rather than the Invading Ukraine
Wouldn’t it be great if all nations would put their collective resources together towards exploration and furthering humanity?
If you're an American what makes you think it's a good idea to do _anything_ in an unfriendly country? You risk getting detained for bogus reasons. Like that basketball player and most recently a soldier. Just stay away.
It’s a good thing I’m Canadian
@@chrisluckhardt maybe so, but the _authorities_ over there won't know the difference until after being detained. Even then there's no guarantee of being released.
But I am glad you got out safely.
@@chrisluckhardt Toronto is in America.
Either very brave and dedicated, or completely insane 😅 Maybe ya need a little bit of both lol. I find it very alluring, but I dont think I'd risk getting in trouble with the military. Kudos to you either way. What a shame to see this going to waste. There's really no reason to have such security since its totally outdated technology 🤔 I remember watching a bunch of guys on YT that got inside, walked all around, and even had a cookout on the wing of it. Pretty crazy stuff.
In response to your first sentence, it’s a little of everything you mentioned. 😂 I remember seeing the video of those guys who did the cookout. They were the first group to go back after the graffiti incident. I was shocked at how much noise they made during their video!
Why didn’t you go inside the shuttle was it locked?
Patrols showed up while we were planning to get inside, so we had to hide for a while. We were running out of time to see the rocket building, so we went over there and missed out on entering the shuttles.
hi
Saying it was a waste of time etc for those engineers for it going “no where” I disagree with. It’s possible for all we know that the engine upgrades etc were used in other aspects of Russian military etc. but obviously idk this so I can easily be wrong. Waste of money? Probably. But I disagree with saying they basically wasted their time
Unpacking my point: the only know outcome of the $125 billion program is the Zenit boosters and derivatives that Russia used until 2017. Meanwhile, all the Soviet innovations that created a superior space shuttle were sadly lost with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
5:19 thats the sad WHAT of the whole story?? Sounds like he says quota but that makes no sense please help so i can fall asleep tonight😅
“That’s the sad CODA of the whole story.”
@@chrisluckhardtwhat does CODA mean?? A google search give me "child of deaf adults" as the most common use of the acronym but that makes no sense... 😭
@@worldbfree7576 A coda is a word meaning a concluding event, remark, or section.
@@chrisluckhardtah ha! Thank you chris
I think you should have mentioned that it did launch into space at least ONE time unmanned, and it worked.
The interview lasted over a half an hour and I did mention the successful launch and orbits of the first Buran shuttle. The editors had a lot of material to work with and chose what you see in this video as the important parts.
Bald already did this
Bald and bankrupt did this years ago……..seems similar
He was one of the more recent people to go there. Several explorers did it years before him, including my first trip in 2019.