The An-225 was designed for the Soviet space program as a replacement for the Myasishchev VM-T. It can transport the energy booster rockets and the Burán space shuttle, having a mission similar to the Airbus Beluga and the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. It entered service with the CCCP-82060 license plate.

The plane was a successor of the An-124. To achieve the requirements of their new task, extensions were added to the fuselage both forward and aft of the wings, which received the wing roots.5 Two Ivchenko - Progress D-18T turbofan engines were added to the new wing roots, adding a total of six and modified the landing gear with a total of 32 wheels. The rear door and ramp were eliminated to save weight and the tail of a single vertical stabilizer was transformed into a double tail with a horizontal stabilizer of large dimensions.

The double tail was a necessity, to be able to carry large loads in a container on the outside, which would disturb the aerodynamics of a conventional tail. Unlike the An-124, the Mriya was not designed for tactical transport or operate on short tracks. In addition, even in the long runways it has difficulties to operate, since when taking off it creates a huge disturbance in the air that causes violent whirlwinds, so that the first plane that wants to take off after the Mriya must wait fifteen minutes. Therefore, the An-225 usually frequents the quieter tracks and thus avoids "hindering" the frenetic pace of takeoffs and landings of large airports.

El An-225 es el avión más grande y más pesado del mundo en servicio y compite con el Hughes H-4 de Hughes como el aerodino más grande jamás construido. Sin embargo, el H-4 nunca entró en servicio y solo logró hacer un vuelo experimental de 1,6 kilómetros a 21 metros de altitud, mientras que el Antónov opera normalmente. Otros aviones comparables, aunque algo más pequeños y ligeros, son el Airbus A380 y el Boeing 747 Dreamlifter.


Siluetas del An-124 y el An-225.


Imagen del An-225 en 2010.