The Buran had about the same payload capacity as the Space Shuttle (slightly more even). It's first (and only) orbital test flight was in '88, 2.5 years before

The Buran had about the same payload capacity as the Space Shuttle (slightly more even). It's first (and only) orbital test flight was in '88, 2.5 years before the Salyut deorbit. Had the Soviet Union been just a smidge more solvent and politically stable we might have the whole Salyut 7 sitting in a museum somewhere. All it would have taken was a slightly accelerated Buran program, a Soviet Union that survived maybe 3 years longer, and a decision that bringing back a decommissioned station is a great test mission that boosts national pride. A near miss in history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_(spacecraft) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_(spacecraft)