Antonov An-225 Mriya: The Buran Shuttle Carrier
The Antonov An-225 Mriya, meaning "dream" in Ukrainian, was an unparalleled achievement in aviation history. This colossal transport aircraft, the largest and heaviest ever built, was initially designed specifically for a singular, monumental task: to transport the Buran (Буран) Soviet reusable spacecraft. The An-225's maiden flight was in December 1988, and it quickly became the star of the Soviet space...