What It Was Like – "A Journey to Find Russia's Forgotten Space Ships (Classic)"

Host: Julian Morgans (Superreal)
Guest: Greg Abandoned (Urban Explorer)
Date: January 1, 2026

Episode Overview

This classic episode revisits the extraordinary true story of Greg Abandoned (@gregabandoned), an urban explorer (Urbex photographer) who, along with a near-stranger, journeyed deep into the Kazakhstan desert to infiltrate a Russian military base and document the remains of the Soviet-era Buran space shuttles. Part history, part buddy-adventure, part cautionary tale—the episode is a wild, surprisingly funny exploration of obsession, extreme travel, and human connection under extraordinary stress.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to the Buran Program & Urbex Culture

• Setting the Scene:

  • Julian describes discovering images of derelict Soviet space shuttles on Instagram, sparking his interest in the fate of the Buran program’s shuttles post-Cold War. (03:33)
  • The Buran program was the USSR’s answer to NASA’s Space Shuttle, abandoned after the Soviet collapse. Remaining shuttles now rot in hangars at a Kazakhstan cosmodrome, inside an active Russian military base.

• Greg’s Background:

  • Urbex (Urban Exploration) is Greg’s passion, not his paid profession:

    “I actually don’t get paid for this. I have a normal job.” (07:04, Greg)

  • By day, he is a calculus teacher at an international school in Beijing. Nights and weekends: urbex.

2. Planning the Mission: The Urbex ‘Holy Grail’

• For the urbex community, the Kazakhstan shuttle hangar is “like the Holy Grail. Like its version of Mt. Everest” (09:06, Julian).
• The logistics involved are extreme: flights to Kazakhstan, overcoming language barriers, traversing inhospitable steppes, and evading Russian military security.
• A 40km hike through rugged, dangerous terrain is required just to reach the site. (10:02)
• Greg trained for months, rigorously preparing his body, learning how to manage hydration and weight, all to handle the trek (13:52).

3. Last-Minute Teaming Up and Red Flags

• Greg’s original partner canceled, but at the last minute, he was contacted by “John from Oklahoma”—a fellow urbex’er also reeling from a breakup. (16:07)
• John’s travel misfortunes: luggage lost, money stolen, and a refusal to purchase essential cold-weather gear.

  “For him bringing a tripod or bringing this huge massive lens... was more important than a sleeping mat or bag.” (20:10, Greg)

  • John’s lack of preparation and risk awareness would become a recurring, sometimes comic, sometimes dire theme.

4. The Hike: Danger, Stars, and Tension

• The trek is marked by surreal desert beauty but also hazards: wild animals, ditches with metal spikes, and intimidating military presence.

• “I fell into a ditch... there was a metal spike... if I fell right onto it, it would, like, puncture my stomach. So that was super lucky.” (10:35, Greg)

• Paranoia grows when they spot a lone figure with a dog—likely a security guard—forcing a risky detour closer to the base. (24:37)
• The dangers of unpreparedness become manifest: John shivers through the first night, missing a sleeping bag, and visibly suffering. Greg describes hearing him “weeping” from the cold (36:50).

5. Inside the Hangar: Awe and History

• After hours of tension and exertion, they breach the hangar. Greg’s first words on entering:

  “You look at those shuttles and you... All you have is this, a small beam of light from your phone. It’s this mysterious dark thing that’s in front of you that’s so enormous... Pictures can never tell you how huge these shuttles are.” (32:51, Greg)

• The shuttles are haunting: “impossibly big,” covered in debris, windows smashed—the grandeur and waste of a fallen superpower on display.
• The sense of history and achievement hits hard:

  “That was just purely amazing. The sense of achievement that I felt of being there... it was surreal.” (39:35, Greg)

  • Greg sits in an astronaut’s seat:

    “A literal childhood dream come true...” (41:58, Greg)

6. Ethics, Quiet, and Culture of Exploration

• Urbex code: minimize impact, leave nothing, take nothing, avoid vandalism.

  “Don’t take stuff from it, don’t steal, don’t damage the property... But at the same time... I had the experience of sitting in the astronaut’s seat because some other person smashed a window.” (46:02, Greg)

• The environment inside is loud with birds and wind; they remain vigilant, moving quietly to avoid security (44:00).

7. Rocket Hangar and Growing Division

• They reach a second hangar to see a colossal delivery rocket (49:53).
• John repeatedly asks Greg to share his sleeping mat; Greg, frustrated and feeling guilt, refuses:

  “Why should I be punished because I prepared and he didn’t?” (53:33, Greg)

  • The dynamic becomes increasingly strained, highlighting how partnerships under stress can fracture.

8. The Return Hike – Disintegration and Isolation

• John injures his knee and grows slower. The cold intensifies. Greg tries to keep them moving, worried that stopping could mean freezing to death (58:23).
• John “starts telling me that I should leave him,” but Greg hesitates to abandon him (58:23).
• Eventually, John disappears in the darkness. Greg, after searching, is forced to continue alone:

  “I turned around and he wasn’t there. And I couldn’t find him.” (61:44, Greg)

9. Greg’s Ordeal: Hallucinations and the Long Walk Out

• The solo hike is grueling. Greg experiences fear from wild animals, close calls with security vehicles, and even hallucinations due to exhaustion and stress:

  “I saw a beam of light above me, like a UFO. And I was convinced it was chasing me.” (69:24, Greg)

• Eventually, Greg makes it to the roadside, freezing, and finds refuge in a roadside café, where he sleeps for the first time in days (74:15).

10. What Happened to John?

• Greg loses touch with John but later learns, via his ex-girlfriend, that John had intentionally gotten himself caught by security (75:10).

  “His only way to leave this desert alive was to get caught.” (75:15, Greg)

• The two never reconnect; they see each other at the airport but remain strangers (76:46).

11. Reflections & Lessons Learned

• Greg is grateful for not attempting the mission solo, as some situations would have been more dangerous alone (77:16).

• The experience teaches him to be more discerning about expedition partners:

  “If I am going to do this place, I will do this with someone who is an urban explorer, who’s been around, who I know more than five days.” (78:24, Greg)

• Big-picture reflection:

  “The top line story is your adventure into Kazakhstan... But really it’s also a story about a friendship that wasn’t.” (77:50, Julian)

12. Coda: Greg’s Book and Projects

• Greg discusses his photo book series “Abandoned China,” exploring derelict sites across China, including factories, vehicles, and another rocket. (80:34)
• Find him and his work at gregabanda.com and @gregabandoned on Instagram.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the Buran Hangar Ethos:

  "Like it's the Holy Grail. Like it's their version of Mt. Everest."
  — Julian (09:06)

• On Meeting John:

  “He had some pictures of abandoned places... I felt like, okay, he’s one of the urban guys.”
  — Greg (16:50)

• Cold Night in the Hangar:

  “I put every piece of clothing that I had on me... and crawl inside that sleeping bag... and I was still shivering from cold.”
  — Greg (34:43)

• Inside the Shuttle:

  “I sat down at the chair, or the astronaut chair, inside the space shuttle. This is like one of the best moments of my life... a literal childhood dream come true.”
  — Greg (41:58)

• On Partnership:

  “When you make friends... for whatever reason, you’re just not gonna be friends. It’s not gonna work out. ... I had that feeling from, like, few hours into that desert.”
  — Greg (53:57)

• On Survival vs. Company:

  “His only way to leave this desert alive was to get caught.”
  — Greg (75:15)

Timed Key Segments

• [03:33] – Introduction: Sputnik nostalgia, Buran brief history
• [07:04] – Greg explains his urbex lifestyle
• [10:02] – Discussing the 40km hike; desert hazards
• [16:07] – John enters the story; red flags appear
• [20:10] – John refuses to buy warm gear
• [32:51] – First moments inside the hangar, emotional awe
• [39:35] – The overwhelming historical weight
• [46:02] – Ethics of exploration and vandalism discussed
• [49:53] – Entering the rocket hangar, increasing tension
• [58:23] – The dangerous cold of the return journey
• [61:44] – John disappears; Greg is forced to walk alone
• [69:24] – Greg’s hallucinations and deep exhaustion
• [74:15] – Finding warmth and safety at roadside café
• [75:15] – Discovering John’s fate via a third party
• [78:24] – Lessons learned about picking travel partners

Tone & Style

The conversation is direct, wry, sometimes darkly comic, and sometimes philosophical. Greg is refreshingly candid about mistakes, anxieties, and the unglamorous reality of epic adventures. Julian strikes a balance between curiosity, empathy, and playfulness, drawing out both the human drama and the historical intrigue of the quest.

Final Reflections

• The Buran space shuttle story is as much about bold exploration and dramatic history as it is about interpersonal dynamics, preparation, and self-discovery.
• Greg’s main lesson: “Pick the right partner. Know them well. Plan for the worst, hope for the best.”
• The grand, crumbling Soviet relics are a metaphor for ambition, waste, and the poignancy of all human endeavors.

Find More

• Greg: gregabanda.com | @gregabandoned (Instagram)
• Host: @julianmorgans (Instagram)

For fans of wild true stories, forgotten history, and the raw honesty of strangers thrown together by circumstance, this episode is essential listening—or reading.