Russian space shuttle in Port of Rotterdam
04-01-2008
On Wednesday 2 April, the Russian space shuttle Buran will arrive in Rotterdam on its way from Bahrain to Germany. The Buran will be unloaded at the Gevelco terminal in the Botlek, where the wings will be reattached. After that, it will depart on Sunday and travel up the Rhine to Mannheim on a pontoon belonging to the Royal Van der Wees Transport Group. From there, it will be transported by road to the Technik Museum Speyer in Sinsheim.Project cargo
The shuttle is 36 by 24 by 16 metres large, and weighs 61 tonnes. It falls under the category of ‘project cargo’, by which Rotterdam would like to distinguish itself more. Gevelco is one of the important players in project cargo, with terminals at the Waalhaven (including special storage facilities) and in the Botlek. The latter facilities have cranes that can lift up to 75 tonnes.
Buran
The Buran (meaning 'snowstorm’ or 'blizzard') is one of four Russian space shuttles to have been launched. The space ship was launched vertically and landed on a landing strip 5 kilometres long and 80 metres wide. The programme was closed down in 1993, and the Buran came into the possession of the Sultan of Bahrain, who has handed it over to the Technik Museum, where it will form part of the space exhibition entitled “Apollo and beyond” this summer.
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