Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has confirmed that the only An-225, ... It operated as the primary method of transporting the Buran-class orbiters from 1988 to 1991.

The Antonov design bureau, renowned for its transports, began work on the gigantic An-225 Mriya (“Dream”) ... Two huge cranes were used to lower Buran on the VM-T’s back, as you can see here.

A look at the Antonov An-225 in Microsoft Flight Simulator, courtesy of Xbox Game Studios. "Using the An-124 Ruslan as a design base, in 1985 Antonov began engineering a project called "Mk. 401 ...

Two huge cranes were used to lower Buran on the VM-T’s back, as you can see here. The 62-ton shuttle was stripped of instruments, reducing weight to only 45 tons, and taken up for its first spin ...

The An-225 was so big it was given the name Mriya, which means “Dream” in Ukrainian. Initially, its mission was to transport the Soviet space shuttle, Buran.

The An-225 is another name on that short list, at least before some unspecified event rendered it nothing more than an oversized barbecue. It was designed as a purpose-built carrier aircraft for ...

And on June 9, 1989, spectators at the Paris Air Show were stunned by the sight of the massive An-225, with the Buran riding atop its form, approaching through the clouds, ...

The AN-225 Mriya was built by Antonov in 1988 and was originally intended to carry the Soviet-built Buran-class space shuttle. It was not only the world’s longest aircraft when it was first ...

The Buran never reached operational status, and after the dissolution of the USSR, the sole complete An-225 was transferred to Ukraine, where the aircraft was originally built.

The An-225 was developed from the four-engined An-124, ... the aircraft was designed for carrying outsize loads including the Soviet Union’s Buran space shuttle. ...

The Buran program was cancelled two years later, having launched only a single uncrewed test flight in 1988. After sitting in storage for several years, the AN-225 was restored to flight as a ...

The An-225's remarkable spec sheet doesn't stop there. The plane has 32 tires to safely roll all of its 551,156 pound payload down a runway. All of that weight is moved by six engines making ...