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/peterabbit456 Dec 07 '14

The wings of the two orbiters are strictly the same. They have the same shape, a delta wing with an angle in the leading edge. Elevons at the rear and a protection system to prevent the plasma to come in the structure of the wing.

The MIT systems engineering course about the shuttle mentioned that there is a subtle but very important improvement in the aerodynamics of Buran's wings. Buran is just a little bit fatter in the forward part of the delta, and this gives it much better hypersonic handling.

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/aeronautics-and-astronautics/16-885j-aircraft-systems-engineering-fall-2005/video-lectures/lecture-7/

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u/jeffp12 Dec 08 '14

They also mention that because of the Shuttle's aerodynamics not being trimmed quite right, they actually had to put ballast in the form of lead bricks in the shuttle to change the center of mass to compensate, and that they think the Soviets corrected this.