Antonov AN-225 Mriya & Buran Orbite

What was good enough for the US space agency NASA with the development of its reusable orbital glider should be acceptable to the official Soviet party CPSU, which is why after long years of planning, the first orbital glider Buran (snowstorm) of the 1.01 series was created in 1986. On the outside, it bore a striking resemblance to the American Space Shuttle, but the internal design, as wel as the transport equipment that was to return the space glider to the launch side after landing, was completely different. While NASA converted an older Boeing 747-100 into a piggyback transporter, Antonov was commissioned to adapt its AN-124 especially for this purpose. Thus, the worlds biggest airplane was created, the six-jet AN-225 Mriya.

In 1988, Buran was launched successfully into the upper atmosphere, to then orbit the globe twice, and return safetly. In 1989, the coupled craft landed at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, but then the collapse of the USSR with all its consequences also befell Antonov. In 1993, the program had to be abandoned for financial reasons. In 2002, Buran 1.01 was destroyed when the roof of its hangar collapsed, while the AN-2325 with the registration CCCP-82060 is today successfully operated under Ukrainian registration as a transporter for the most extreme logistical tasks. The Mriya model is now premiered in its original Soviet design in a set together with Buran.