OK-011

Airframe no.: 0.11

Energia designation: 11M?

Alternative designations: OK-011

Forward, mid and aft fuselage and tailfin used for static tests at NPO Molniya in preparation for second series orbiter production. Now part of the orbiter exhibited at VDNKh in Moscow.

The second series of orbiters received a number of structural changes which required an additional series of tests to qualify the airframes. The niches for VRDU engines were eliminated from the aft fuselage and the body flap was enlarged. In the mid fuselage section the composite spars running along the payload bay were replaced with solid titanium forgings 18 metres long. The number of joints in the construction was reduced; most notably, the cabin’s welded aft bulkhead was replaced with a single forging.

Thousands of canvas straps were adhered to the fuselage skin and attached to special fixtures which uniformly applied static loads to the airframe.

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0.11 in the static testing hall at NPO Molniya. Image: Aviatsionno-Kosmicheskiye Sistemy, 1997