This model depicts the ambitious space station Freedom concept that was promoted in the mid-to-late 1980s. Named by President Ronald Reagan as a beacon of American leadership in space, Freedom was meant to be a versatile facility for business and research in earth orbit. This concept proved to be too costly to gain lasting political support, and the project was reconfigured under President Bill Clinton to become the International Space Station. McDonnell Douglas, one of the bidders for the space station contract, gave this model to the Museum in 1988.
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.