How did we lose the biggest plane in the world

The news of the first test flight Stratolanch did not stay long in the tops of Runet. Only a few amateurs on the occasion and without reason to scold the States, seeing the footage of the flying Stratolaunch, hastened to criticize it in the social networks: they say the flight is just a test. And the giant was flying not so high and not so fast. Anyway, it's nothing.

So, what kind of plane did the Americans create?

Stratolanch is a giant weighing 250 tons, and with full load - about 590 tons. It consists of two 73-meter fuselages, equipped with six engines from Boeing 747. Wingspan is 117 meters. It is completely made of composite materials. It is equipped with 28-wheeled chassis. Without refueling it can stay in flight for about 10 hours.

Those who are at least a little familiar with aviation, probably remember that even recently our country was proud of the world's largest aircraft as the successor of the USSR. It is a heavy transport aircraft An-225 "Mriya", which was created in Kiev, Antonov Design Bureau, built by the Russian-Ukrainian aviation cooperation. It took off for the first time in 1988. And, by the way, if to be honest, not the new American Stratolanch, but the old Soviet Mriya can still be considered the largest aircraft in the world, because the full take-off weight of the "American" is about 590 tons, and the AN-225 had 640 tons.

"Mriya, as well as Stratolanch, was to become an air launch pad for spacecraft under the Multipurpose Aviation and Space System (MAKS) project. Its conceptual design was protected back in 1989 and was created in the USSR under the leadership of the great Russian aircraft designer Gleb Lozino-Lozinsky, who developed the project "Energy" - "Buran".

The airplane, which is now made by the Americans, is actually the first stage of the launch vehicle - the embodiment of Lozino-Lozinsky's idea. He was the only one who suggested making such a stage of the AN-225. The second stage was a rocket or a reusable aircraft mounted on the aircraft. With their help it would be possible to launch payload into space.

However, the designer failed to see the embodiment of this idea. After his death in 2001, the MAKS system, the analogue of which the Americans now only experience, was destroyed due to lack of funds, short-sighted policy of state officials and interagency squabbles.

Officially, the An-225 Mriya plane was made under the Energy - Buran program.

But its second purpose is the aircraft carrier of the aerospace system. If you take a close look at the appearance of the AN-225, you will see that it has two "pebbles" above the wing - these are just elements of the spacecraft.

By the early 90's, the project of cargo delivery into space was protected, approved by academic science, departments and expected only funding.

Transportation to the "orbital plant" semi-finished products and the return to Earth finished products just had to provide aerospace itself for years. The task of reliable and cheap shuttle transportation was entrusted to Lozino-Lozinsky. And he solved it.

According to the conclusion of a number of expert organizations, including two foreign ones, good economic characteristics were shown at the project level. And the ones that nobody can show so far.

And then came the year 1991. The USSR did not exist. Along with it, there were no funds for space.

The developers were always told: you guys, wait. They didn't throw the last topic away; they slowly beat out some small funds to support the project.

A little later, Ukraine several times offered to Russia to buy An-225 "Mriya". Some of the aviation officials even claimed that the deal was about to happen. But, as it turned out, nobody was going to negotiate it seriously: there was no interest.

And now, almost 30 years later, the U.S. lifted into the air its aircraft, similar to the An-225, close to carrying capacity and made for the same "space" tasks, which our country voluntarily abandoned in the early 2000s.

After all, back in 1989 we had both an approved MAKS project and a ready-made carrier aircraft. Now that's it: politics intervened.