&gt;The shuttle went the way of the dodo and we are using Soviet&#x27;s 70s technology to get into orbit.<p>We&#x27;re between systems, like the seven years between Apollo and the STS. Its a happy coincidence Russia still has a legacy system for lifting people into the largely STS built and ferried ISS.  The SLS&#x2F;Orion and SpaceX systems will be the next generation of spaceflight that will take us out of the LEO. Neither the Soyuz or the STS could leave LEO.<p>&gt;was the first fully automated space shuttle, so again autocratic state wins?<p>The Buran sent as many men into space as Zimbabwe. Zero. That&#x27;s not a &quot;win&quot; in anyone&#x27;s book. It was a prototype and a blatant copy of the STS.<p>The STS had automatic capabilities but astronauts, feared rightly, that if the landing gear went down accidentally they would die. The Shuttle does NOT HAVE the capabilities to lift its own landing gear. That&#x27;s done by a ground crew. If this went off accidentally in space then these people are stranded. If it goes off during re-entry they would die.<p>Having a removable and stowed cable for plugging the flight computer into the landing gear was a rational compromise. This allowed scenarios where an abandoned shuttle could fly itself home.