Editing Soviet space program (section)

==Incidents, failures, and setbacks==
===Accidents and cover-ups===
{{Main|List of spaceflight-related accidents and incidents}}

The Soviet space program experienced a number of fatal incidents and failures.<ref>{{cite book|title=Red Star in Orbit |author=James E Oberg|author-link=James Oberg|date=1981|isbn=978-0394514291|url-access=registration |publisher = Random House|url= https://archive.org/details/redstarinorbit00jame}}</ref>

The first official cosmonaut fatality during training occurred on March 23, 1961, when [[Valentin Bondarenko]] died in a fire within a low pressure, high oxygen atmosphere.

On April 23, 1967, [[Soyuz 1]] crashed into the ground at {{cvt|90|mph|km/h}} due to a parachute failure, killing [[Vladimir Komarov]]. Komarov's death was the first [[List of spaceflight-related accidents and incidents|in-flight fatality]] in the [[history of spaceflight]].<ref>[https://sma.nasa.gov/SignificantIncidents/assets/tragic-tangle.pdf Tragic Tangle], ''System Failure Case Studies'', NASA</ref><ref>[https://www.nasa.gov/topics/history/features/komarov.html Vladimir Komarov and Soyuz 1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112042927/https://www.nasa.gov/topics/history/features/komarov.html |date=November 12, 2020 }}, NASA</ref>

The Soviets continued striving for the first lunar mission with the [[N-1 rocket]], which exploded on each of four uncrewed tests shortly after launch. The [[United States|Americans]] won the race to land men on the Moon with [[Apollo 11]] on July 20, 1969.

In 1971, the [[Soyuz 11]] mission to stay at the [[Salyut 1]] space station resulted in the deaths of three cosmonauts when the reentry capsule depressurized during preparations for reentry. This accident resulted in the only human casualties to occur in space (beyond {{cvt|100|km}}, as opposed to the high atmosphere). The crew members aboard Soyuz 11 were [[Vladislav Volkov]], [[Georgy Dobrovolsky]], and [[Viktor Patsayev]].

On April 5, 1975, [[Soyuz 7K-T No.39]], the second stage of a Soyuz rocket carrying two cosmonauts to the [[Salyut 4]] space station malfunctioned, resulting in the first crewed launch abort. The cosmonauts were carried several thousand miles downrange and became worried that they would land in China, [[Sino-Soviet split|which the Soviet Union was having difficult relations with at the time]]. The capsule hit a mountain, sliding down a slope and almost slid off a cliff; however, the parachute lines snagged on trees and kept this from happening. As it was, the two suffered severe injuries and the commander, Lazarev, never flew again.

On March 18, 1980, a [[Vostok rocket]] [[1980 Plesetsk launch pad disaster|exploded on its launch pad]] during a fueling operation, killing 48 people.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/monitoring/media_reports/705808.stm |title=Media Reports &#124; Soviet rocket blast left 48 dead|publisher=BBC News|access-date=2016-01-19}}</ref>

In August 1981, [[Kosmos 434]], which had been launched in 1971, was about to re-enter. To allay fears that the spacecraft carried nuclear materials, a spokesperson from the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Soviet Union)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR]] assured the Australian government on 26 August 1981, that the satellite was "an experimental lunar cabin". This was one of the first admissions by the Soviet Union that it had ever engaged in a crewed lunar spaceflight program.<ref name=siddiqi2000>{{Cite book|last1=Siddiqi|first1=Asif Azam |title=Challenge To Apollo: The Soviet Union and the Space Race, 1945–1974|isbn=9780160613050|date=2000|publisher=[[NASA|National Aeronautics and Space Administration]], NASA History Div.|location=[[Washington, D.C.]]|url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4408pt1.pdf|access-date=22 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061008193942/https://history.nasa.gov/printFriendly/series95.html|archive-date=2006-10-08|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|736}}

In September 1983, a Soyuz rocket being launched to carry cosmonauts to the [[Salyut 7]] space station exploded on the pad, causing the Soyuz capsule's abort system to engage, saving the two cosmonauts on board.<ref>{{cite news
| last         = Schmemann
| first        = Serge
| date         = October 12, 1983
| title        = Soyuz Accident Quietly Conceded 
| url          = https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/12/world/soyuz-accident-quietly-conceded.html
| work         = New York Times
| location     = United States
| access-date  = 2022-04-20
}}</ref>

===Buran===
[[Image:Buran on An-225 (Le Bourget 1989) (cropped).JPEG|thumb|right|[[Buran programme|Buran]] at airshow (1989).]]
The Soviet [[Buran program]] attempted to produce a class of spaceplanes launched from the [[Energia (rocket)|Energia]] rocket, in response to the US [[Space Shuttle]]. It was intended to operate in support of large space-based military platforms as a response to the [[Strategic Defense Initiative]]. Buran only had orbital maneuvering engines, unlike the Space Shuttle, Buran did not fire engines during launch, instead relying entirely on Energia to lift it out of the atmosphere. It copied the airframe and [[thermal protection system]] design of the US [[Space Shuttle Orbiter]], with a maximum payload of 30 metric tons (slightly higher than that of the Space Shuttle), and weighed less.<ref>{{cite web|title=Buran Space Shuttle vs STS – Comparison|url=https://www.buran.su/buranvssts-comparison.php#:~:text=But%20Buran%20is%20a%20little,off%20whereas%20Buran%20has%20no.&text=So%20the%20engines%20are%20on,nearly%20the%20same%20of%20STS.|access-date=2021-02-22|website=www.buran.su}}</ref> It also had the capability to land autonomously. Due to this, some retroactively consider it to be the more capable launch vehicle.<ref>{{cite web|last=Zak|first=Anatoly|date=2013-11-19|title=Did the USSR Build a Better Space Shuttle?|url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/rockets/did-the-soviets-actually-build-a-better-space-shuttle-16176311|access-date=2021-02-22|website=Popular Mechanics|language=en-US}}</ref> By the time the system was ready to fly in orbit in 1988, strategic arms reduction treaties made Buran redundant. On November 15, 1988, Buran and its Energia rocket were launched from [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]] in [[Kazakhstan]], and after two orbits in three hours, glided to a landing a few miles from its launch pad.<ref>{{cite news|last=Zak|first=Anatoly|date=November 20, 2008|title=Buran – the Soviet space shuttle|publisher=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sci/tech/7738489.stm}}</ref> While the craft survived that re-entry, the heat shield was not reusable. This failure resulted from United States counter intelligence efforts.<ref>{{cite web| first=Robert|last=Windrem | date=February 11, 2008|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna18686550|title=How the Soviet space shuttle fizzled|access-date=2023-01-04|website=[[NBC News]]}}</ref> After this test flight, the Soviet Ministry of Defense would defund the program, considering it relatively pointless compared to its price.<ref>{{cite web| title=Buran reusable shuttle|url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/buran.html|access-date=2021-02-22|website=www.russianspaceweb.com}}</ref>

===Polyus satellite===
The [[Polyus (spacecraft)|Polyus satellite]] was a prototype [[space weapon|orbital weapons platform]] designed to destroy [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] satellites with a megawatt [[Carbon dioxide laser|carbon-dioxide laser]].<ref name=starwars>{{cite web| url = http://www.buran.ru/htm/str163.htm| title = Звёздные войны, которых не было |trans-title=Star Wars that didn't happen| author = Konstantin Lantratov}}</ref> Launched mounted upside-down on its [[Energia (rocket)|Energia rocket]], its single flight test was a failure when the [[inertial guidance system]] failed to rotate it 180° and instead rotated a complete 360°.<ref name=grondine>{{cite web |url = http://www.astronautix.com/craft/polyus.htm |title = Polyus |author = Ed Grondine |access-date = 2009-09-15 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100102201428/http://astronautix.com/craft/polyus.htm |archive-date = 2010-01-02 }}</ref>