Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 13, 2026

BOR-5

The BOR-5 is a 1:8 sized test flight vehicle, used to study the main aerodynamic, thermal, acoustic and stability characteristics of the Buran. It follows upon the BOR-4 reentry test vehicle.

Last revised
Jun 13, 2026
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Source
BOR-5
BOR-5 No. 502 at the Central Air Force Museum in Russia
General information
Other names
  • Russian: БОР-5, «Беспилотный Орбитальный Ракетоплан 5
  • romanized: Bespilotnyi Orbital'nyi Raketoplan 5, Unpiloted Orbital Rocketplane 5
TypeUnmanned 1:8 scale re-entry test vehicle
Number built5
Flights6
History
First flight5 June 1984
Last flight22 June 1988

The BOR-5 (Russian: БОР-5, «Беспилотный Орбитальный Ракетоплан 5», romanizedBespilotnyi Orbital'nyi Raketoplan 5, lit.'Unpiloted Orbital Rocketplane 5') is a 1:8 sized test flight vehicle, used to study the main aerodynamic, thermal, acoustic and stability characteristics of the Buran. It follows upon the BOR-4 reentry test vehicle.

It was put into a suborbital trajectory by a K65M-RB5 rocket launched from Kapustin Yar, near Volga, towards Lake Balkhash1 at the altitude of about 100 km with velocities from 4000 to 7300 kilometers per second.2

Flights

BOR-5 No. 505 at the Technik Museum Speyer in Germany source ↗

Six flights were made:34

  • 4 July 1984 - aborted
  • 5 June 1984 - No. 501
  • 17 April 1985 - No. 502
  • 27 December 1986 - No. 503
  • 27 August 1984 - No. 504
  • 22 June 1988 - No. 505

Current locations

Two survivors of the BOR-5 tests are known to exist:5

References

References

  1. Krebs, Gunter D. (2024). "BOR-5". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  2. "BOR-5". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  3. Petrovitch, Vassili (2024). "BOR Characteristic". Buran Space Shuttle - Energia Rocket Launcher.
  4. Pillet, Nicolas (2013). "BOR | Histoire". Kosmonavtika.
  5. Pillet, Nicolas. "BOR | Où les voir ?". Kosmonavtika.
External links