Antonov An-225 Mriya
The Antonov An-225 Mriya [a] was a Soviet Aircraft, and the largest airplane by weight in the world. It needed 6 engines because it was very large. It was made by a company called Antonov. The Mriya was designed to carry 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 to carry by train.
An-225 Mriya | |
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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
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Developed from | Antonov An-124 |
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Antonov_225_passing_over_Birmingham_-_2020-08-02_-_Andy_Mabbett_-_04_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Antonov_225_passing_over_Birmingham_-_2020-08-02_-_Andy_Mabbett_-_04_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The company ownership changed because of the collapse of the Soviet Union. The ownership of Antonov changed to the country of Ukraine, and all assets were taken to Kyiv. It was modelled from the Antonov An-124 Ruslan. This plane was 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.
Notes
change- ↑ Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-225 Мрія, lit. 'dream' or 'inspiration', NATO reporting name: "Cossack"
References
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