Tug-of-star-wars

History of the ill-fated Buran
* The Buran space programme was launched in 1976 to combat the United States Space Shuttle programme.

* In 1988 the Buran spacecraft made an unmanned test flight into space.
* The Buran 0.02, currently stranded in Bahrain, was a test vehicle used to test the design and operational procedures of space-worthy orbiters.
* The shuttle flew from 1985 to 1988 completing 25 test flights.
* Once retired the Buran 0.02 was stored near Moscow, but following the collapse of the Soviet Union was given to Kazakhstan to cover unpaid bills Russia owed for use of its Baikonur launch facilities. It later became the property of the NPO Molnyia design bureau that had originally built the vehicle
* In 2000 the shuttle was sold to an Australian company who displayed it in Darling Harbour in Sydney and the Olympics enclosure. The shuttle failed to earn enough money to stay open or pay off NPO Molynia, and sat in a parking lot for 12 months.
* NPO Molynia then sold the shuttle to Space Shuttle World Tours (SSWT) who moved the shuttle to Bahrain in 2002 for the summer festival.
* Following legal disputes between the owner of SSWT and NPO Molynia the shuttle has remained disassembled in a Sitra storage yard.
* Last September labourers were reported to have been seen sleeping inside part of the shuttle.

THE ‘world’s largest space touring show’ which was due to open yesterday in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur has been “delayed indefinitely” because of a bitter tug-of-star-wars legal battle over what was to be its top attraction … a space shuttle which lies stranded in Bahrain.
The Soviet Buran 0.02 remains in pieces in a storage yard in Sitra. It was a full-scale test vehicle built in the 1980s which was brought to Bahrain as part of a summer festival in 2002.
Since an ownership dispute broke out, Bahrain has been at the centre of a legal tussle which now involves Russian, German, Singaporean and Malaysian companies.
The dispute has been a major blow to the organisers of the Malaysia International Aerospace Adventure 2007. The show was to coincide with the first journey of Malaysian astronauts into space this year and to celebrate the country’s 50th anniversary of independence.
A spokesman for the event’s organisers, Best Venue, said: “We’re still waiting to see what will happen, and what the Bahrain court does. We’ve postponed the show and we’re looking for a substitute.”
In recent days, the High Civil Court in Bahrain has been examining the latest chapter in the furore.  A Russian company called NPO Molniya, which developed the shuttle in conjunction with the former USSR space agency, originally sold the shuttle to Singapore-based Space Shuttle World Tours (SSWT).
In 2002, NPO Molniya claimed that SSWT failed to make payments, totalling $320,000 (BD120,604), and a court case was brought against them in Bahrain.
After years of litigation, Bahrain’s High Criminal Court last year ruled in favour of NPO Molniya and ordered the sales contract to be terminated. SSWT appealed against the verdict at Bahrain’s Supreme Civil Appeal Court in March, but the court again ruled in NPO Molniya’s favour. However, the owner of SSWT, Kevin Tan, had already leased the shuttle to Best Venue to exhibit it at the Malaysia International Aerospace Adventure 2007.
In April Mr Tan brought a counter-case against NPO Molniya, claiming that payments had been made and that a former employee of NPO Molniya had transferred rights of ownership to him personally during a meeting in Bahrain.
He is currently claiming ownership and the release of the Buran so it can be transferred to Malaysia.
Meanwhile, NPO Molniya had also found a new buyer in a German museum, Auto Technik Museum Sinsheim & Speyer. A purchase contract had been signed by the two companies.
The German museum and NPO Molniya are co-operating to counter Mr Tan’s claim.
“Its an extremely complicated situation,” said Lorenz Glueck, counsel for the German museum who also has power-of-attorney to act for NPO Molniya, “but neither the Russians nor the Germans have any desire to harm the Malaysian show.
“We’ve tried for the last three years to negotiate with Mr Tan. If we don’t find a peaceful solution we’ll have to continue with court procedures.”
The latest hearing has been postponed until later this week.
Head of the Visit Malaysia Secretariat, Hashimah Nikjaafar, said: “The show has been delayed but the organisers have indicated that it could go ahead in July. We really want the show to be held, and from the indications given to us the Buran could still come.
“It is a disappointment that the show isn’t opening this week, but we have a lot of other events going on to celebrate Visit Malaysia Year.”

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By -RdS-
editor@gulfweekly.com