Signed Buran photography with the original mission stamp UdSSR 1988
Silver gelatin print
Soviet Union, 1988
On a further sheet signed by all participants of the Buran program and with five stamps of the Soviet aerospace as well as the space launch facility Baikonur
Original mission stamp
Total dimensions, framed: 25.5 x 63 cm
Stamp: 5.1 x 3.5 x 0.5 cm (length x width x height)
Good condition
Provenance: Collection Andora, Germany
The photograph was taken on the day of the transportation of the Buran shuttle to the launch site at the Soviet space launch facility Baikonur; all participants of the Buran-program are standing in front of the Buran shuttle, which was developed as the counterpart to the US-American Space Shuttle. This lot contains an original stamp of the Buran mission.

In a white painted wooden frame is a color photograph on the left depicting all participants of the Buran-program in front of the Buran shuttle. In the background, one can see the Buran space shuttle on the carrier rocket Energija. The photograph was taken on the day of the transportation of the Buran shuttle to the launch site at the Soviet space launch facility Baikonur. At the right side of the photography there are signatures of all participants. The Buran mission possesses own mission stamp as every mission. The photography shows five different stamps of the Buran program. It is very rare that an original mission stamp is attached to the photography. The stamp shows a Buran space shuttle at the orbital flight, as well as the transcript in Cyrillic: “Buran cosmodrome Baikonur”. Only few examples of these mission stamps are hand-made and are rarely to be found on the markt.

The Buran 1.01 was the only shuttle that was used for an orbit flight. The Buran-program was closed after the break-down of the Soviet Union and it remained with a single manned flight. This flight took place on November 15, 1988, shortly after this photograph must have been taken. In contrast to a spacecraft a shuttle can return to earth after a space mission like an airplane, whereas from a spacecraft the landing can occur only once with a landing capsule. On the right in the frame is another sheet with the signatures of the participants of the Buran-program. This sheet also bears stamps of Soviet aerospace and Baikonur.



The work is verso on the frame inscribed in Cyrillic and German, which translated into English, means ‘The first transportation of the Buran-… to the launch site. Participants of the development, the examination and ministers for general engineering of the USSR, general constructors …, …, …, Lozino-Lozinsky. …, 1988’. The photograph is in good condition, it is slightly faded. The frame displays some usual traces of use. The photograph is 20.6 x 28.4 cm in size and the total dimensions, including the frame, are 25.5 x 63 cm.

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