Ralph Mirebs, an urban explorer and photographer in Russia, has revealed extraordinary photos of Soviet space shuttle prototypes gathering dust in an abandoned hangar. The abandoned hangar is located at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which is still in operation today (with the close of NASA’s shuttle program, Russian Soyuz shuttles are the only way for astronauts to reach the International Space Station). The Buran prototype shuttles found by Mirebs, however, are from an earlier era – they are the last remnants of a space program that began in 1974 and was finally shuttered in 1993. The only operational Buran shuttle, Orbiter 1K1, completed one unmanned orbital flight before it was grounded. Unfortunately, this shuttle was destroyed in a hangar collapse in 2002. Many areas of the huge Baikonur Cosmodrome are still in business today, and that it is from here that the Soyuz rockets are launched, supplying the International Space Station in supplies and crew members. Mirebs’ photos show this forgotten space program derelict and frozen in time. (Photo by Ralph Mirebs/Exclusivepix Media)





There are currently no known plans to renovate the base in the near future. (Photo by Ralph Mirebs/Exclusivepix Media)





The base was a marvel of engineering …but also a failed secret that never realised its full potential because of the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union. (Photo by Ralph Mirebs/Exclusivepix Media)





The K2 shuttle is entombed in the crumbling hanger with Earth dust everywhere. (Photo by Ralph Mirebs/Exclusivepix Media)





The once state-of-the-art cockpit has had better days. (Photo by Ralph Mirebs/Exclusivepix Media)





The scaffolding would have once been used by engineers building and servicing the craft. (Photo by Ralph Mirebs/Exclusivepix Media)





The hanger is absolutely huge and has overhead cranes to lift parts into place. (Photo by Ralph Mirebs/Exclusivepix Media)





Once upon a time men reached for the stars from this very place. (Photo by Ralph Mirebs/Exclusivepix Media)





Another view of the shuttle cockpit from where spacemen would have controlled their craft. (Photo by Ralph Mirebs/Exclusivepix Media)





The shuttle never got its final coat of paint and was left unfinished. (Photo by Ralph Mirebs/Exclusivepix Media)





The scene is almost apocalyptic as if there has been a nuclear catastrophe. (Photo by Ralph Mirebs/Exclusivepix Media)





The shuttle was designed to withstand the stress of being in space and to keep everyone alive inside. (Photo by Ralph Mirebs/Exclusivepix Media)





The nose was designed to be aerodynamic so the shuttle could gain enough thrust to fly into orbit. (Photo by Ralph Mirebs/Exclusivepix Media)





The machinery is ultra complex – getting a spacecraft into orbit is no easy task. (Photo by Ralph Mirebs/Exclusivepix Media)





In may ways this shuttle resembles an aeroplane which in fact is. (Photo by Ralph Mirebs/Exclusivepix Media)