Antonov AN225 Mriya Antonov Design Bureau Fully Assembled

In 1988, Antonov Aviation built the world's largest cargo aircraft, the AN-225, named Mriya (translated from Ukrainian, means Dream) and landed it at the Gostomel airport, in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Its specifications were astonishing: it was 275 feet long, 288 feet wide and 59 feet tall. To understand just how enormous Mriya was imagine a six-story house with four entrances. The Mriya weighed 350 tons (700,000 lbs.) and could lift another 250 tons (500,000 lbs.). This was an absolute record. Mriya was a beast. No plane on earth could come close to that much carrying capacity. For example, Mriya could transport a herd of 42 elephants, or more than 1.8 million iPhones.

Over the years, the Mriya AN-225, has transported giraffes, yachts, parts of power plants and other large items other planes could not transport. Mriya carried the first Soviet "Shuttle" called "Buran" made its longest flight. After a short flight into space, the Buran remained grounded, but the Mriya would continue to soar!