«Mria» An-255 airplane carries the «Buran» space ship

The UNIAN Archive. «Mria» An-255 airplane carries the space ship «Buran». The Antonov Aviation Scientific Center completed the modernization of the 250-ton-load-capacity Mria An-255 plane. On Sunday, April 8, 2001 in Kyiv its ground test started. It is supposed that the renovated Mria will carry out its first flight on April 17. Mria An-225 was created in 1988 as an air start platform for the Buran space cargo aircraft launches. First flight of constructed on the Kyiv-based aircraft works plane took place on December 21, 1988. 106 world records were achieved by means of this aircraft. It is designed for large dimension load transportation in any place of the globe inside fuselage as well as outside on hanger bracket. Cruising speed - 800-850 km/hour, wingspan - 88.4 meters, range ability with 200-ton-load - 4.5 thousands of kilometers. The total expenses on renovation of the air car made up $20 million. As soon as the certificate is received the car will be presented on the Paris Avia Salon in Le Bourget (France) in this June. Photo by Georgyi Nesterenko/ UNIAN