It was used on the Buran spacecraft as thermal protection. This is a ceramic tile made for the Soviet space shuttle Buran. The Buran was a Soviet effort to replicate the American space shuttle program and had one voyage without a crew in November 1988 before the program was canceled.

For years, there has been speculation about how closely the Buran replicated its American counterparts. Like the American shuttle, the Soviets used three types 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 covered with black tiles; and the upper side was protected by white ceramic tiles.

Similar to the American shuttle, each Soviet tile was marked with a serial number to document its location and performance over time. The tile can withstand temperatures up to 1500 degrees Celsius and is very lightweight, made from a special quartz material. The cost of making such tiles in the 1980s was 500 rubles, equivalent to 2-2.5 salaries of an engineer.