This is a desktop model of the Soviet space shuttle mounted on its launch vehicle, Buran. The manufacturer of this model is unknown at this time. The model depicts the Soviet shuttle that was designed and built during the 1970s and 1980s. There was a single, uncrewed launch of the shuttle in November 1988. After that the program was abandoned. At the time, the press noted that the Buran bore a remarkable resemblance to the American orbiters. The main difference between the two was that while the American shuttles carried engines and fuel to achieve orbit, the Soviet model was mounted on a massive launch vehicle, the Energia, in order to achieve orbit.

According to the provenance records of this model, it was originally on display at the Zhitomor City Museum near Kiev in Ukraine. At some point, the museum sold it to an American collector, whose estate donated it to this museum.