TomTom WORK tracks final journey of Russian spacecraft

10 April 2008, Amsterdam: The epic journey of a giant Russian spacecraft is being tracked using TomTom WORK's connected navigation system.

The enormous Buran 02 spacecraft, which measures 17 metres by 34 metres and weighs over 100 tonnes, is being moved from Bahrain to Germany. The craft is destined to be the centrepiece of a display in the Technik Museum Speyer near Frankfurt.

Specialist heavy haulage company Spedition Kuebler GmbH is handling the enormous task of transporting Buran 02. To keep the museum precisely informed of progress the company has installed a TomTom WORK solution. This has also been popular with the tens of thousands of space and aviation enthusiasts around the world who are following the journey on the Internet.

The TomTom WORK solution comprises a TomTom LINK box connected to a TomTom GO 910 GPS navigation unit. This equipment is able to constantly feed information about the spacecraft location through WEBFLEET, the on line management and reporting tool of TomTom WORK.

Jeremy Gould, UK Sales Manager for TomTom WORK, said: We are delighted that Spedition Kuebler is using our connected navigation system to monitor the movement of this amazing machine. In its day this was state-of-the-art technology and it is great that TomTom's own state-of-the-art technology is playing such an important part in this, its final journey.

Buran 02 is the only surviving Russian re-usable manned space shuttle. It was designed to carry a crew of four, up to six passengers and 30 tonnes of materials into space and to return with a payload of 20 tonnes. The craft made 25 flights, all within the Earth's atmosphere, before high costs led to the closure of the programme.

You can check out the location of the shuttle in real time and the progress of its transportation to Speyer by going to www.tomtomwork.com/buran