First flight.
The An-225 first flew from Sviatoshyn in Kyiv on 21 December, beginning its life as the transport aircraft for the Buran space programme.
Super-heavy transport aircraft · Aviation icon
Antonov An-225 Mriya
Ukraine · Worldwide operations
Designed to carry the Buran space shuttle, the Ukrainian An-225 became the heaviest aircraft ever flown and a global symbol of extraordinary airlift capability before it was destroyed at Hostomel in 2022.
The story
The aircraft that carried the impossible.
Mriya means dream in Ukrainian. The aircraft was created in the final years of the Soviet space programme to carry the Buran orbiter and components of the Energiya launch vehicle. Engineers enlarged the An-124 concept, added six turbofan engines, an 88.4-metre wing, and the unmistakable twin tail needed to keep the airflow stable around cargo mounted above the fuselage.
Only one An-225 was completed. After the Buran programme ended and the Soviet Union dissolved, the aircraft spent seven years out of service. Antonov restored it for commercial operations in 2001, turning a specialised space-programme machine into a unique solution for generators, turbines, industrial equipment, humanitarian cargo, and loads that no other aircraft could accept.
Its dimensions were only part of the fascination. Every arrival became an event. Crowds gathered at airport fences, enthusiasts followed registration UR-82060 across the world, and the aircraft built a public identity far beyond heavy transport. In 2020, after 18 months of maintenance and upgrades, Mriya returned to service just as the pandemic created urgent demand for medical cargo flights.
Length84 m
Wingspan88.4 m
Maximum take-off weight640,000 kg
Maximum payload250,000 kg
Cargo volume1,200 m³
Power6 turbofan engines
Chronology
From a space programme to a global icon.
Buran and 110 world records.
Mriya carried 156.3 tonnes during a record flight in March, then flew with the approximately 60-tonne Buran orbiter mounted on its back from Baikonur in May.
Return to commercial service.
After a seven-year period out of service, the aircraft completed its restored first flight and received its type certificate for a new career carrying exceptional cargo.
The longest air cargo.
Two wind-turbine blades, each 42.1 metres long, were flown from China to Denmark and entered the aircraft's record book.
A global medical airlift.
Following extensive maintenance, Mriya returned to the air and operated urgent missions carrying personal protective equipment from China to destinations across Europe and North America.
Destroyed at Hostomel.
The only completed An-225 was destroyed during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the battle for Antonov Airport. Its wreckage remains a symbol of national loss and the stated ambition to rebuild the dream.
Skies Magazine archive · 2020
Mriya in service.
