Antonov An-225 Mriya

The Antonov An-225 Mriya [a] was a Russian/Ukrainian Aircraft, and the largest airplane by weight in the world. It had 6 engines, which was necessary for its sheer size. It was manufactured by a company called Antonov. The Mriya was designed to transport the Russian Shuttle, Space Shuttle Buran. The Buran only flew once, and was successful. However, the funding of Buran was insufficient, and, the project quickly ended. The remaining plane, registration UR-82060, was used to carry very large items that were not efficient by train, to be carried by the Antonov.

An-225 Mriya
The An-225 in its old livery, Circa. 2012
Role Buran Carrier, Cargo Transport
National origin Soviet Union
Design group Antonov
Built by Antonov Serial Production Plant
First flight 21 December 1988
Retired February 5th, 2022
Status Destroyed
Primary user Antonov Airlines
Produced 1985
Number built 2, one as UR-82060, the other, uncompleted.
Unit cost 250 Million USD- 300 Million USD
Developed from Antonov An-124
The An-225 leaves six vapour trails. That is one for each engine.

The company ownership was changed, due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The ownership of Antonov was switched to the country of Ukraine, and all assets were shipped to Kyiv, or Kiev. It was modelled from the Antonov An-124 Ruslan. This plane is big enough to carry a Boeing 747's fuselage. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the last aircraft, UR-82060, was destroyed in the hangar of the airport of the Antonov Serial Production Plant in Ukraine.

Antonov An-225 Mriya Media

Notes

  1. Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-225 Мрія, lit.'dream' or 'inspiration', NATO reporting name: "Cossack"

References

Other websites