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Russian photographer Ralph Mirebs was exploring around Baikonur in Kazakhstan, when he stumbled upon a very intriguing abandoned structure. Unable to resist the mystery of what might be hiding inside, he decided to take a peak.

It turned out the building was a relic of the Soviet-American space race.

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Ralph Mirebs

The facility was apparently operational until 1993, when the Soviet Union collapsed and it was abruptly abandoned.

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Ralph Mirebs



It was meant to house the Soviet Union’s prized space shuttles.

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Ralph Mirebs

Three shuttles were constructed, but only one ever went on a mission, an unmanned orbit.

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Ralph Mirebs

The shuttles were just sitting there, undisturbed and unguarded, ever since.

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Ralph Mirebs

Despite being abandoned for so long, the building itself is in relatively good condition.

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Ralph Mirebs

The shuttles themselves, however, aren’t doing as well.

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Ralph Mirebs

The building’s once advanced pressure control systems failed long ago, allowing the facility to be overrun with dust and other debris damaging to the space crafts.

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Ralph Mirebs

The scale of the facility is still mightily impressive.

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Ralph Mirebs

Without proper care, these amazing relics of the early space exploration will be lost forever.

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Ralph Mirebs




It’s surprising how little damage the facility itself sustained during its decades of abandonment. Only a few windows have been broken.

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Ralph Mirebs

The holes you see at the nose of the shuttle are actually thrusters.

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Ralph Mirebs

They would have been used for making slight corrections once the shuttle was in space.

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Ralph Mirebs

Of all the parts on the shuttle, the cockpit might be in the best condition.

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Ralph Mirebs

This is pretty darn cool!

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Ralph Mirebs

Just imagine what it would have been like to sit here as the shuttle flew through space.

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Ralph Mirebs

The hatch and pressure control systems are in pretty good shape too.

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Ralph Mirebs



Here’s a shot from inside the fuselage.

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Ralph Mirebs

There are hundreds more photos of the abandoned facility on Ralph Mirebs’s blog.

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Ralph Mirebs

Comments

  • Didn't know Russia had a shuttle program. Great pics but still hard to imagine a building of that size went unnoticed in reality
  • CSM said:
    Didn't know Russia had a shuttle program. 

    Nor did I!

    I think a little more reading here: http://www.popsci.com.au/space/space-travel/why-the-soviet-space-shuttle-was-left-to-rot,405343

    I think the photographer probably chose to set up the photo of building to give the impression of remoteness but it is where they did testing. And here's the location, zoom out - it's as remote as they come!



    Quick facts
    Baikonur, formerly known as Leninsk, is a city of republic significance in Kazakhstan on the right bank of the Syr Darya river, rented and administered by the Russian Federation. Wikipedia
  • Great stuff David! Russians trying to keep up with NASA, didn't go so well! Pictures seem to show that on a single day it was just abandoned! 
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