Burya

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The Burya ("Storm" in Russian; Russian: Буря) was a trisonic, intercontinental cruise missile designed by the Lavochkin design bureau (designation La-350), based on a request for proposal issued by the Soviet government in 1954.[1] The purpose of the design competition was to develop a cruise missile capable of delivering a nuclear payload to the United States. Analogous developments in the USA were vehicles such as the SM-62 Snark and SM-64 Navaho cruise missiles, however the Burya was much faster and launched from a pad like a missile.

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[edit] Development

The Burya was planned as a test platform for very high speed technologies[2], which Lavochkin hoped to develop into a full-fledged spaceplane. The Burya was remarkably advanced for its time, and despite setbacks and several crashes, the vehicle demonstrated a range in excess of 6000 km with a thermonuclear (hydrogen) bomb-sized payload at speeds greater than Mach 3. The Burya had a unique two stage design - the dramatically novel concept for an intercontinental missile was the second stage, which was powered by a ramjet engine up to its high speed of Mach 3. The first stage was a ballistic-rocket-derived booster, which accelerated the Burya to altitude and the speed necessary to light up its ramjet engine. This kept the vehicle simple, and relatively efficient given its tremendous speed.

Despite the very successful outcome of its development, the Burya only made one successful flight before being cancelled in 1961. It was a casualty (like the American X-15 manned spaceplane) of a sudden fascination in pure ballistic vehicles for both weapons delivery and space access by the USSR's and USA's political leadership. The missile was an early precursor to the Zvezda and Buran projects.

[edit] Specifications

[edit] General characteristics

  • Function: Nuclear cruise missile
  • Launch mass: 96000 kg
  • Total length: 19.9 m
  • Launch platform: Launch pad
  • First flight test: 1 July 1957
  • Last flight test: 16 December 1960
  • Number of successful launches: 14
  • Number of failed launches: 3
  • Status: Canceled

[edit] Launch vehicle (stage 1)

  • Function: Multi-purpose launch vehicle
  • Engine: 2× Burya booster with S2.1150 engine
  • Length: 18.9 m
  • Diameter: 1.45 m
  • Thrust: 68.61 t
  • Oxidizer: Nitric acid
  • Combustible: Amine

[edit] Cruise missile (stage 2)

  • Engine: 1× RD-012U ramjet
  • Speed : Mach 3.1-3.2
  • Range: 8,500 km
  • Flight altitude: 18-20 km
  • Warhead: thermonuclear, 2190 kg
  • Length: 18.0 m
  • Diameter: 2.20 m
  • Wing span: 7.75 m
  • Wing area: 60 m²

[edit] References

  1. ^ FAS.org - "Burya / Buran- Russian / Soviet Nuclear Forces". Retrieved on 2006-06-17.
  2. ^ "Astronautix.org - "Burya". Retrieved on 2006-06-17.