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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
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watching Cold War, Hot Jets. A fascinating look at how British aviation gave rise to iconic aircraft
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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.
Yes!