It's sort of spectator sport when people come to watch the Antonov take off and land. The Antonov AN 225 is unique which sets over 200 world records. That also make it with a huge global following. It even dwarfs a boeing 747. It's so incredibly heavy that appear to defy science. So what extraordinary feats of engineering enable it to fly and to be a cargo plane like no other?

In May 2016, it undertook an epic journey from Kyiv, Ukrain to Beth, Australia. Many people learned about an 225 from a documentary made in Germany recording this journey. In fact, it has a more legendary experience and history.

The Antonov An-225 Mriya (Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-225 Мрія, lit. 'dream' or 'inspiration'; NATO reporting name: Cossack) is a strategic airlift cargo aircraft that was designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Ukrainian SSR within the Soviet Union during the 1980s. It is powered by six turbofan engines and is the heaviest aircraft ever built, with a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tonnes (705 short tons; 1,410×103 lb). It also has the largest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service. The single example built has the Ukrainian civil registration UR-82060. A second airframe with a slightly different configuration[1] was partially built. Its construction was halted in 1994[1] because of lack of funding and interest, but revived briefly in 2009, bringing it to 60–70% completion.[2] On 30 August 2016, Antonov agreed to complete the second airframe for Airspace Industry Corporation of China (not to be confused with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China) as a prelude to commencing series production.

The Antonov An-225 was initially developed as an enlargement of the Antonov An-124 to transport Buran-class orbiters. The only An-225 airplane was completed in 1988. After successfully fulfilling its Soviet military missions, it was mothballed for eight years. It was then refurbished and reintroduced, and is in commercial operation with Antonov Airlines, carrying oversized payloads.[4] The airlifter holds the absolute world record for an airlifted single-item payload of 189,980 kg (418,830 lb),[5][6] and an airlifted total payload of 253,820 kg (559,580 lb).[7][8] It has also transported a payload of 247,000 kg (545,000 lb) on a commercial flight.

The Antonov An-225 was designed to airlift the Energia rocket's boosters and the Buran-class orbiters for the Soviet space program. It was developed as a replacement for the Myasishchev VM-T. The An-225's original mission and objectives are almost identical to that of the United States' Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.[10][11] The lead designer of the An-225 (and the An-124) was Viktor Tolmachev.

The An-225 first flew on 21 December 1988.[13] It was on static display at the Paris Air Show in 1989, and it flew during the public days at the Farnborough Air Show in 1990. Two aircraft were ordered, but only one An-225, (registration CCCP-82060, later UR-82060[14]) was finished. It can carry ultra-heavy and oversized freight weighing up to 250,000 kg (550,000 lb) internally[10] or 200,000 kg (440,000 lb) on the upper fuselage. Cargo on the upper fuselage can be 70 m (230 ft) long.

By 2000, the need for additional An-225 capacity had become apparent, so the decision was made in September 2006 to complete the second An-225. That second airframe was scheduled for completion around 2008,[19] then delayed. By August 2009, the aircraft had not been completed and work had been abandoned.[4][20] In May 2011, the Antonov CEO reportedly said that the completion of a second An-225 Mriya transport aircraft with a carrying capacity of 250 tons requires at least $300 million, but if the financing is provided, its completion could be achieved in three years.

Airspace Industry Corporation of China (AICC)'s president, Zhang You-Sheng, told a BBC reporter that AICC first contemplated cooperation with Antonov in 2009 and contacted them in 2011. AICC intends to modernize the second unfinished An-225 and develop it into an air launch to orbit platform for commercial satellites at altitudes up to 12,000 m (39,000 ft).

In August 2016, representatives from Ukraine's Antonov and AICC, an import-export company operating out of Hong Kong,[24] signed an agreement to recommence production of the An-225, with China now planning to procure and fly the first model by 2019.[25][26] The aviation media cast doubt on the production restart, indicating that due to the ongoing Russia–Ukraine conflict, needed parts from Russia are unavailable, although they could be made in China instead.[27]

Q1: True (T) or False （F）
A. The Antonov AN 225 is bigger than Boeing 747.
B. There are two finished Antonov AN 225 in the world.

Q2: Which institute designed the Antonov AN 225?

Q3: What's original purpose of the first order of AN 225?