Buran moved to Speyer museum
02 October 2008
A new extension at the museum is dedicated to space travel. The highlight is the Buran, the prototype 002 Russian spacecraft OK-GLI that travelled to space 25 times before landing in Bahrain, the Middle East, for the last time.
Spedition Kübler was instrumental in its transport from the beginning. In 2003 it helped transfer ownership to the museum on paper. Once that was settled about three years later, after clearing ownership claims through the courts, Kübler also got involved in moving the 36 m long, 25 m wide and 17 m tall Buran to its new home in Germany.
Before Kübler could take over in the Port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the Buran had to be transferred from its intermediate storage location in the port area of Manama, the capital of Bahrain, on to a barge. Loading was performed by two crawler cranes lifting in tandem. A ship with onboard cranes loaded the spacecraft once alongside. To facilitate easier handling and shipping both wings and the tail were separated from the main body.
Sea transfer
A long sea journey followed, taking the ship and its precious cargo via the Red Sea, Suez Canal, Strait of Gibraltar and the Channel to the Port of Rotterdam. There the ship moored at the heavy lift and project cargo facilities of Gevelco. Two 75 tonne capacity Takraf shore cranes were used in tandem to unload the Buran on to the quay. Specialists from the museum cleaned the Buran spacecraft and prepared it for its next and final inland journey along the River Rhine to Germany.
In the meantime, Kübler Spedition had mobilised its Mercedes-Benz Actros SLT 4160 8 x 6/4 heavy-duty ballasted tractor together with 16 lines of Scheuerle Intercombi hydraulic modular trailers. Once the tractor and trailer were onboard the main and central 11 m wide barge, the loading process commenced.
The 36 m long and about 6 m diameter main fuselage of the Buran spaceship was lifted, again in tandem, on to the awaiting trailer. This was followed by the 10 m wide wings that were positioned to the left and right of the hull, supported by elephant feet positioned on the left and right side-pontoons.
The 25 m wide Buran, loaded on the barges, was manoeuvred upstream by a heavy pusher boat. Both were operated by van der Wees Transporten in Dordrecht, the Netherlands. Shipping up the River Rhine took some six days. The many bridges on the route had to be carefully checked for sufficient height clearance.
Road restrictions
To allow the public to watch the convoy, Kübler provided a location positioning monitor on its web site to track progress. The images came from the tractor's system as it travelled on the barge. The awkward transport was also closely monitored by local media. As a result crowds gathered along the banks the Rhine.
Due to the physical restrictions of the roads leading to the Technik Museum Speyer, a discharging location was found in the Naturhafen of Altrheinarm, close to Speyer. A detailed and well prepared programme was planned following the arrival of the transport in the port Friday evening. A temporary road connection was built out of aluminium road panels through the forest.
On the evening of its arrival, after a 300 tonne telescopic crane from Scholpp was moved in, both wings, measuring 15.80 x 9.80 x 1.00 m, weighing 15 tonnes, plus the tail wing, measuring 12.80 x 5.80 x 0.60 m and weighing 15 tonnes, were discharged and loaded on to trailers.
The following day a double set of 12 m ramps was laid out for the Buran, loaded on the Scheuerle trailers, to roll off the barge, headed by the Mercedes-Benz Actros. The final 4 km journey to the museum was planned for a Sunday.
Impressive dimensions
The load was 48 x 9 x 9.5 m (LWH) and weighed 155 tonnes. After passing through a narrow stretch of forest road, the Buran arrived in the streets of Speyer. About 15,000 spectators gathered to witness the transport's final stage. They were controlled by the police and the German THW.
The 10 m width of the wings meant that traffic signs had to be removed temporarily. Despite the enormous dimensions of the loads in comparison to the relatively small city roads, the convoy made its way to the museum as planned and without problems. The loads reached the museum well within the permitted timeframe.
All loads were discharged at the museum, while the exhibition hall was completed. Once ready, Kübler provided a 5-bed-5 Scheuerle modular trailer with hydraulic gooseneck to manoeuvre all parts and, finally, the Buran itself in to the new hall. Following the successful transport operation by Kübler Spedition, the Russian spacecraft will be put together again and completely restored. The new hall opens 3 October 2008 and shows other space related material.
