Antonov An-225

The An-225 Mriya (Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-225 Мрія, NATO reporting name: 'Cossack') is a strategic airlift transport aircraft which was built by the Antonov Design Bureau (Kyiv, Kharkiv in Ukraine) during the Soviet era, and is the largest fixed-wing aircraft ever built. The design, built to transport the Buran orbiter, was an enlargement of the successful An-124 Ruslan. Mriya (Мрiя) means "Dream" (Inspiration) in Ukrainian. The Antonov An-225 is c... more

The An-225 Mriya (Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-225 Мрія, NATO reporting name: 'Cossack') is a strategic airlift transport aircraft which was built by the Antonov Design Bureau (Kyiv, Kharkiv in Ukraine) during the Soviet era, and is the largest fixed-wing aircraft ever built. The design, built to transport the Buran orbiter, was an enlargement of the successful An-124 Ruslan. Mriya (Мрiя) means "Dream" (Inspiration) in Ukrainian. The Antonov An-225 is commercially available for flying any over-sized payload due to the unique size of its cargo deck. Currently there is only one aircraft operating. The An-225 was designed in Ukraine for the Soviet space program as a replacement for the Myasishchev VM-T. Able to airlift the Energia rocket's boosters and the Buran space shuttle, its mission and objectives are almost identical to that of the United States' Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The An-225 first flew on 21 December 1988. The aircraft was on static display at the Paris Air Show in 1989 and it... less