Russian orbiter Buran is moved by a barge across the river Rhine near the western German town of Wesel April 7, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, April 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Former Soviet space shuttle Buran is now on its last mission. But different from its U.S. equivalents soaring into the sky, the retired aircraft is gliding up the Rhine river on three barges at bicycle speed.

    The bizarre sight of the 36 meter-long, black and white shuttle, which weighs nearly 100 tonnes, attracted sightseers in Germany Monday and gained publicity for at the museum which is to be its final home.

    Corinna Handrich, a spokeswoman for the Technik Museum Speyer, said the acquisition and transport of the shuttle and the construction of a new hall to display it will cost about 10 million euros (15.7 million U.S. dollars).

    The spacecraft was built for the Soviet Union's 1980s Buran space programme. It has flew around the earth twice before returning safely to Kazakhstan and was taken out of service because of the huge costs.

    Since 2000, it has been on show in Sydney and Bahrain, and then in storage in Bahrain during a legal fight with a Singapore businessman over its ownership, the museum said.

    "We are going to be on the river the whole week and will arrive in Speyer on Saturday," museum director Hermann Layher said.

    "We've been pursuing the shuttle for seven years," said Layher. "Now we're pleased and hope no more problems occur."

    Buran, which translates from Russian as "blizzard," was radio-controlled from the ground and required no crew, the museum said. About 34 meters long and 17 meters high, it is bigger than its U.S. equivalent.

    (Agencies)

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