This is a white ceramic tile made for the Soviet space shuttle Buran. The Buran was a Soviet effort to replicate the American space shuttle program. The spacecraft had one voyage, without a crew in November 1988. After that, the program was cancelled. For years, there has been speculation as to how close a replica the Buran was to its American analogs. Like the American shuttle, the Soviets used three kinds of materials to protect the craft from the extreme temperatures of reentry. The leading edges of the nose and wing were protected with carbon fiber reinforcement. The underside of the craft was protected by black tiles and the upper side by these white ceramic tiles. These tiles were mapped and glued to a substrate that covered the orbiter. And also similar to the American case, each Soviet tile was marked with a serial number to that its location and performance would be documented over time.

This tile was part of a collection that was donated to the museum.