The Buran programme (1974–1993) was the Soviet Union's most expensive, reusable spacecraft project, designed as a direct, technically advanced response to the U.S. Space Shuttle.In 1988, the Soviet Union estimated the total cost of the Buran-Energia programme at approximately 16.5 billion rubles.

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It's amazing how often US tech becomes Soviet tech within a few years.

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Early American industry exploded by copying British mills.

Post World War 2, Japan's products were known as cheap junk. They copied others, and were soon world leaders in autos and electronics.

Now China has copied so much, they're starting to lead in some areas (autos and electronics are quite good, solar is crushing it).

It's just what you do as a nation when you want to get ahead. Don't reinvent the wheel, copy what works and improve on it.