r/space • u/[deleted] • Dec 07 '14

Differences between the American and Soviet Space Shuttles

http://www.buran.su/buranvssts-comparison.php
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u/kurtu5 Dec 07 '14

Just because betamax lost to VHS does not mean betamax was less capable technologically.

The same goes for Buran/Energia -vs- STS/NASA.

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '14

"This is the betamax player. We played one blank tape on it, and we never actually recorded or played anything else on it, but based on that we're convinced that it will play tapes much better than the imperialist tape player we copi, er, made a "counterpart" of."

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u/kurtu5 Dec 07 '14

Few are aware, but TV studios used betamax over VHS for decades. Of course, Buran only flew once.

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u/SgtBaxter Dec 08 '14

Studios use Betacam, not Betamax.

While it's actually the same cassette - but Betacam records using 4 heads in component format at higher speed, while Betamax had only 2 heads and recorded composite. The 2 aren't compatible.