Origin of Buran, Soviet Houston story

[greenmartian2017]

I thought I would post this inquiry here.

Within the last year, I had read (and then lost) a link to a story on the Web about one of the alleged reasons the Buran space shuttle program went forward.

During the lead up to the Apollo-Soyuz mission, it is alleged that Soviet space officials while in Houston happened to pass by an off-limits office and saw on the wall a poster of the US space shuttle bombing Moscow.

I am not saying the story is accurate; I am asking if anyone has the actual link to this story so I can read the whole context of this claim.

Any help that can be supplied will be greatly appreciated.

I have thought it appeared on the space review website, but I couldn't find it there.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Archibald]

The Space Review: Nuking Moscow with a Space Shuttle

But I can't remember the poster thing...

 

[greenmartian2017]

Archibald,

I saw this article in my effort (so far) to try to track down the origin story. It doesn't include the Houston story in it, though. But thanks.

 

[Orionblamblam]

During the lead up to the Apollo-Soyuz mission, it is alleged that Soviet space officials while in Houston happened to pass by an off-limits office and saw on the wall a poster of the US space shuttle bombing Moscow.

I am not saying the story is accurate...

You know, it could go either way.
1) The likelihood of someone at NASA having a poster/painting on their wall depicting the Shuttle nuking Moscow seems pretty damned unlikely. That's not the role for NASA, and it's be P inC as all hell, even in the mid seventies.
2) On the other hand, as some sort of a *gag?* Someone suspected that the Rooskies might be peeking where they weren't supposed to, so someone set something up for them to see? That could happen. And then there'd be a talking-to

And then...

3) On the gripping hand, someone set it up assuming peeking Rooskies... but not as a gag, but as CIA-approved trickery? If so.... GENIUS. It got the USSR to blow massive wads of cash on the worst spacecraft design in history. Well done!

 

[Fluff]

there is an Ian M Banks story, planet/civil war, one side had space access - 1 shuttle - other side had -cant remember - the hero mil adviser, comes in, and devises a plan, doesnt tell them what it is, but gets authorisation, basically its a suicude mission to fly the shuttle into the enemies Capital City. They did, and I think they won.

Maybe the soviets liked Ian M Banks Sci fi.....