Antonov developed it to transport the Buran spaceplane (the Soviet counterpart of the space shuttle) as well as Energia rocket launchers, but after being renovated following the demise of the Soviet space program, the plane rapidly found other airlifting business. With a maximum takeoff weight of 710 tons, the An-225 is the largest aircraft ever built. It holds the total airlifted payload record of 559,580 pounds, as well as the airlifted single-item payload record of 418,830 pounds. It has the 290-foot-longest wingspan of any plane currently in flight, as well as six engines. ¹⁾

Except for NASA, every organization in the world has retired the bloated airplane. The Guppy's large proportions are ideal for transporting spacecraft and rocket components, according to the US space agency. The first Super Guppy was built from the expanded fuselage of a Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter, which flew for the first time in 1965. ²⁾