How did a Soviet space shuttle end up in Germany? Definitely in the top-3 of best known Buran orbiters, OK-GLI is the only one on display outside of the former USSR, so how did the "pride of Soviet cosmonautics" end up in the small German city of Speyer? A thread 🧵🧵🧵

The Buran-Energia 1L stack in the MZK building.

Buran and the Antonov An-225 Mriya on the way to the 1989 Paris Air Show.

The bare-metal oxygen tank of the Energia core stage during manufacturing.

A stunning view of Buran and Energia on the "Grasshopper" transporter-erector heading to Baikonur's pad 110/37 for the orbiter's first and only launch.

Buran and the Antonov An-225 Mriya during the 1989 Paris Air Show. Both vehicles have since been destroyed.