Remember one of the most remarkable masterpieces of Soviet engineering? Despite only having made one flight, it is still continue to fascinate people across the globe — and She still intends to continue doing so…
The beauty of the beast
The superplane carrying a Buran.
In 1984 the big country needed a big plane. Antonov Design Bureau was entrusted with developing of a plane for large-sized cargo transportation. A six-motor super heavy turbojet plane An-225 «Mriya» («dream» in Ukranian) became the product of the designers’ four-year work. The aircraft, which will celebrate it’s twenty years anniversary of its first test flight, still remains the absolute champion in terms of load-carrying capacity.
In the late 1950s, when the Cold War between the USSR and the USA was at its peak, the next step of flexing the power muscle was the space exploration. Since both countries were trying really hard to outdo each other, it was only a matter of time before one would take over.
The way it happened, the USSR got ahead. When in April 1961 the first man went into the outer space and orbited the Earth, the world went berserk over the new, well, horizons.
We are the champions, my friend.
But what took him so long?