In summer 1994 I had a chance to inspect Buran (boo-ruhn) hulk at its final destination in Gorky Park, Moscow. The structural prototype of the space shuttle was shipped by barge by Moscow river from Tushino were it was in storage after structural testing. The prototype was to become a "space" theme cafe where clients will be served with tube packed cosmonaut meals and entertained with space simulator build in the cockpit area.

The cafe was not open yet: carpenters were finishing floor inside of cargo bay, the ship was to get the authentic paint job min symbols of USSR and cargo bay steams were to be sealed against nasty Moscow weather. Although the body of the orbiter was stripped to shiny aluminum, the underside of both wings were covered with ceramic heat resistant tile. This tile protected Buran during reentry and did this quite well when the real article made its unmanned trip to space in late 80's. My hopes for a little piece of the ceramic souvenir were shattered by guards, who explained that it was a fake matched with original only by properties needed for structural testing. Guard let me in for a couple of US dollars and I walked inside from the aft of the prototype. The inside of the orbiter was so spacious that I was not surprised to learn that plans for cafe included two story dining hall inside Buran's cargo bay. The wooden structure separating top and bottom halves of the bay looked unfit inside of the space craft, but Buran itself was not exactly born to become an eatery.

The guard who let us in worked on the Buran space program and he seems to be very knowledgeable of the spacecraft, answering questions. Ironically, he is better paid as night guard than an employee of design bureau where Buran was created. Later I learned that the whole project was supervised and paid for by folks who built and tested Buran and presence of former(?) employee was not that shocking. 

Alexei

The last time I saw this Buran (which is an engineering mockup, as the actual flown vehicle was destroyed in a construction accident), it was out in the middle of nowhere, not far from an RSC Energia facility that's near the facility that processes Soyuz vehicles for ISS. Now this vehicle is situated right next to the Gagarin Museum at the Baikonur cosmodrome.

It's kind of unsettling to come out of the building and find this right next door. alexpgp

Where Do Shuttles Go?

OK - 2.01

Model 2.01 was the third shuttle in construction when the project was stopped in 1993.

This model is the first of the second generation, these Burans had undergoes some modifications and improvements in comparison to the 1.01 model. The principal improvements were made on the cockpit.

The completion of model 2.01 at the stop of the project was estimated to 30-50%. As you can see on the photographs it seems that it has been dismantled, after few years in the Tushino factory, near Moscow, it was moved in October 2004 on a car-park.

SOURCE: Buran Energia

Shuttle 2.01 was the third space shuttle vehicle of the Soviet Buran program, serial number 11F35 K3. It is often suggested that 2.01 was to be named "Baikal", named after Lake Baikal. 2.01's construction was not complete when the Buran program was ended (30-50 percent done), so it remains unfinished. - Wikipedia

Differences from Shuttle Buran

The 2.01 is the first of a second series of Burans. The main differences between the second series and the first are located in the cockpit, which has been improved using feedback from the flight of the Buran and the construction of Ptichka.  It was also equipped with Zvezda K-36RB ejection seats for the first manned flights.  - Wikipedia

Projected flights

It was projected in 1989 that the Shuttle 2.01 would have its first manned space test flight in 1994, with a duration of twenty-four hours. The craft would have been equipped with a life support system and two ejection seats. Crew would have consisted of two cosmonauts – Igor Volk (commander) and Aleksandr Ivanchenko (flight engineer).

Current status

After residing at the Tushino factory where it was constructed, it was announced in 2006 that it will be put on display in the Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum, Germany. But that's a common misinformation. The German Museum has bought OK-GLI which will be on display in it's own new hangar from September 2008.

SOURCE: изделие 2.01

Buran Multimedia Encyclopedia Release 3.50