OK - TVA

OK-TVA was used for the thermal, mechanical and acoustic tests. The thermal tests were led in a special room where 10 000 quartz lamps could vary the temperature from -150°C to +1 500°C and simulated the temperatures range which the shuttle go trough during its way from the ground to the space vacuum. The mechanical tests, took place in a room of 423 m2, consisted in loading the nose, the wings, the vertical stabilizer and the shield beam. The bench of test could apply 8 000 kN horizontally and 2 000 kN vertically and thus to load the structure at 90% of its rupture limit. The acoustic tests were conducted in a special room of 1 500 m2 which was equipped with 16 high speakers which could generate a sound of 166 dB at frequencies from 50 to 2 000 Hz. These acoustic tests forced the engineers to redraw the structure of the shuttle, the heat shield, the seals and the soundproofing.

Since 1997 the shuttle has been in the Gorky park at Moscow in an amusement park. Specials armchairs has been installed in the payload bay to reproduce the weightlessness and a movie is played during 10 min, but the show doesn't attract as many people as planned and the mangers are facing financial difficulties. It was repainted to look like Buran 1.01 (the model which flew) this is why many people is mistaken about it.

News of OK-TVA on the blog.

More pictures of OK-TVA in the site's gallery.

Watch it on YouTube	OK-TVA at the Gorky park (1995)	OK-TVA at the Gorky park (1997)
OK-TVA at the Gorky park

Amusement park

OK-TVA entrance	Right side of OK-TVA	Movie
Porthole	Nose
Details of the porthole	Fitted out cockpit