The World’s Largest Plane: Why The Soviets Really Built The AN-225 Mriya

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God I love Mustard so much. I might just have to cough up the $ for Nebula to see his other stuff.

👍︎︎ 15 👤︎︎ u/Zee2 📅︎︎ Feb 25 2021 🗫︎ replies

Yes!

👍︎︎ 1 👤︎︎ u/Thechlebek 📅︎︎ Feb 25 2021 🗫︎ replies
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This video was made possible by CuriosityStream. Watch thousands of high quality documentaries   and get access to my streaming service  Nebula, by using the link in the description.  It's a plane that would have never have been  built today. It burns up to 20 tons of fuel an hour,   and it's too large for a third of the world's  airports. But this cold war relic was built to   do what no other aircraft in the world could:  lift enormous components for the Soviet   space program, and even launch spacecraft  into orbit by serving as an air-launch platform.   The Soviets had big plans for this plane, but  by the time they unveiled it to the world at   the 1989 Paris Air Show, it was a plane  built for a future that would never be. In 1982 the Soviet Union begins airlifting  components of a new space launch system, strapping   enormous parts to the back of aircraft, and flying  them thousands of kilometers across the country.   They're racing to build the counterpart to  the American Space Shuttle, a rival spacecraft   and launch system called Energia-Buran. Like  earlier Soviet spacecraft, it's being built here   at aerospace manufacturing facilities in the west,  and it'll be launched here thousands of kilometers   away. But unlike earlier spacecraft, Energia-Buran  components are too large to be transported using   railways, so they'll have to be airlifted. In a rush  the Soviets convert 1950s-era bombers for the job,  but the planes aren't up to the task. They can  only lift smaller components, and even those   have to be stripped down to make them as light  as possible. To carry fully assembled components,   some of which are nearly 60 meters long, the  Soviets are going to need a much bigger plane. The Americans solved their need to transport space  shuttles by converting Boeing 747s into shuttle   carriers. The jumbo jet was an ideal plane for the  job, large and powerful it was modified by reducing   weight, strengthening its fuselage, and adding  additional stabilizers. And unlike the Soviets,   the Americans would also use rail lines, and the  largest components would be transported over   water using barges. Only the shuttle orbiter would  need to be airlifted. The soviets on the other hand,   would need to airlift their entire launch system,  including giant rocket boosters and core stages.  And with Soviet leadership pressing to start  launches in 1988, engineers had little time to   come up with a solution. So, naturally they looked  to the largest plane the Soviet Union had to offer.   Under development in the early 1980s the Antonov  124 would enter service as the largest and most   capable transport in the world, and  just in time for Energia-Buran launches.  But even the enormous 124 wasn't going to cut it,  engineers would have to make the plane even larger.   And to do, it they'd lengthen the fuselage and  add route extensions to increase the wingspan.   For more power they'd give the plane two more  engines. With a strength in fuselage, the new plane   would easily carry a Buran orbiter, but larger  components would obstruct the tail. So engineers   redesigned the vertical stabilizer. To deal  with the new plane's immense weight and to   prevent it from damaging runways, they'd give it  a new landing gear: distributing weight across   32 wheels. Larger and more capable, this new titan  of the skies would be designated as the An-225 the An-225 is unlike any aircraft in the world. Six  turbofans put out a staggering 309,000 pounds of   thrust, giving it the ability to lift nearly double  the payload of its western contemporaries. It's a   plane so large, the Wright Brothers could have made  their first flight entirely inside its cargo hold.   The 225's primary mission would be to carry  Energia-Buran components, but designers also   envisioned using the plane to do what had never  been done before. Launch spacecraft into orbit   directly from mid-air. That's because the 225 would  be powerful enough to fly a fully-fueled space   plane and its payload up to the lower stratosphere,  where it would then launch at an altitude   of 8 kilometers. Allowing it to reach orbit at  one-tenth the cost of launching from the ground.   The reusable launch system would  complement the Energia-Buran and its development was well underway by 1988. The  Soviets planned to build several Antonov An-225s   to serve as the backbone of their  space program for decades to come. In November of 1988, the Soviets stunned the world  with the first unmanned launch of a Buran. Up until   that point, few in the west would have had any idea  that the Soviets had developed their own version   of the Space Shuttle. And the following year  the soviets gave western audiences a first-hand   look as the enormous 225 carried a Buran to the  Paris Air Show. The monstrous plane drew crowds,   but experts were puzzled. To get to the air show,  the Soviets had flown their brand new spacecraft   right through a rainstorm. A move NASA would have  considered reckless with their Space Shuttle.   But by this point, damaging the Buran was the least  of the Soviet Union's concerns. Because by 1989, the   country was going bankrupt and could no longer  afford the Energia-Buran. And it meant that the   spacecraft would never launch again. Without the  need to airlift orbiters core stages and boosters,   the 225 was paraded around at Western air shows  while the Soviets struggled to find an alternative   use for the giant plane. And it seemed like nothing  was off the table. One proposal considered using   the 225 to deploy a Ekranoplans for maritime  rescue missions. The British looked at using the   plane as a launch platform for their own proposed  space plane. At one point there was even a   proposal for a massive triple deck airliner. But  none of these plans ever materialized. In 1991, the   Soviet Union collapsed and before long, the 225 was  sent into storage outside of Kiev, Ukraine where it   was scavenged for parts. The world's largest  plane now seemed destined for the scrapyard.  With the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine's  Antonov Design Bureau struggled to find customers   for their aircraft. But they did find a new source  of revenue chartering out their existing fleet to   fly cargo. With An-124s having more lifting  power than any aircraft in the world, Antonov   found a brisk business transporting everything  from giant electrical generators to locomotives.   But every so often, they'd get a request  to fly cargo that even their 124's couldn't manage. By the late 90s, the case for  resurrecting the giant 225 was building.   But it wasn't a straightforward decision. Unlike  the smaller 124 which was purpose built for cargo,   the 225 was a relic of the Soviet space program, with a fuselage heavily reinforced to handle   external payloads. And unlike the 124, the plane had  no rear cargo door, which would slow the process of   loading cargo. But Antonov bet that the plane could  fill a niche. And after years in storage, 20 million   dollars were invested into new engines, modernized  avionics, and a new strengthened cargo hold.   On its first chartered flight in January of  2002, the 225 carried a payload of 187 tons.   A feat that would have otherwise required two  Boeing 747 freighters. The world's largest plane   had been given a new lease on life carrying cargo  that would have otherwise been impossible to fly.   And over the course of the next two decades, the  225 set new world records for the immense   payloads it transported. But the plane's outsized  capabilities come with outsized costs. At upwards   of 30 thousand dollars an hour to operate, the 225  only flies when no other aircraft can do the job. And with only one of the type ever produced, the  giant plane remains in a class of its own. Drawing   crowds wherever it flies. A second half finished  225 has sat in storage for more than 30 years.   And despite regular headlines about how it one  day might be finished, it's not certain if there   will ever be enough demand for a second  spacecraft-transporter turned cargo plane.   The An225 was built in an era when technological  advantages, whether in space or in the air, were   to be achieved no matter the cost. And in the  1970s as the Soviets were racing to develop the   Buran to catch up to the American Space Shuttle  the, Americans were developing another radical   technology to gain a tactical advantage in the  air. Not by flying higher or faster than the enemy.   But by being virtually invisible to radar. You  can learn more about the invention of stealth   technology and the incredible F-117 Nighthawk  in my latest video now on Nebula. Nebula is a   streaming site I helped create, along with some of  YouTube's top educational creators. And it's where   you can watch exclusive mustard content without  ads or sponsor messages. The best part about Nebula   is that it's free when you sign up for CuriosityStream. A streaming service with thousands of big   budget award-winning documentaries. I just finished  watching Cold War, Hot Jets. A fascinating look at   how British aviation gave rise to iconic aircraft  like the Avro Vulcan and the groundbreaking TSR-2.   get unlimited access to both CuriosityStream  and Nebula for less than $15 for an entire year   by going to curiositystream.com/mustard and  use the promo code 'mustard' when you sign up.
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Channel: Mustard
Views: 805,911
Rating: 4.9677262 out of 5
Keywords: An-225, Antonov An-225 Mriya, World's largest airplane, World's heaviest plane, World's most powerful jet, Energia-Buran, Soviet Space Shuttle, An-124 Ruslan, Boeing 747, Space shuttle aircraft carrier, Aviation history, Aircraft engineering, Airplane documentary, Cargo Planes, Civil aviation, Transport planes, Spaceplanes, Reusable launch systems, Air launched spacecraft, Mustard, Aircraft
Id: twwDv7jjjfw
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 10min 25sec (625 seconds)
Published: Thu Feb 25 2021
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