{"id":1323445,"date":"2026-05-28T17:07:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T15:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T09:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T07:48:13","slug":"myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/","title":{"rendered":"The Soviet Bomber That Carried the Buran Shuttle on Its Back"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<p>The cargo on the back of the aircraft is roughly twice as wide as the aircraft itself. The cargo also weighs 50 tonnes. The cargo is a Soviet Buran space shuttle missing its vertical stabiliser, strapped to the spine of a strategic bomber from which the original tail surfaces have been removed and replaced with twin oversized end-plates the size of barn doors. The whole machine is taking off from a 1980s Soviet airfield with no airline-style ground equipment in sight. And nobody, outside the Buran-Energia programme, was supposed to know the aircraft existed.<\/p>\n<p>The Myasishchev VM-T Atlant \u2014 built from the bones of the cancelled M-4 Bison strategic bomber \u2014 is the most improbable piggyback transport in aviation history. Two were built. They flew 150 missions to Baikonur Cosmodrome. They carried Energia rocket stages and the Buran orbiter itself across thousands of kilometres of Soviet airspace at a time when the outside world knew almost nothing of the aircraft\u2019s existence.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:16px 20px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:8px;font-size:15px;line-height:1.7\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#333;font-size:16px\">Quick Facts<\/p><p style=\"margin:6px 0\"><strong>Designer:<\/strong> Myasishchev Experimental Design Bureau (OKB)<\/p><p style=\"margin:6px 0\"><strong>Based on:<\/strong> Myasishchev 3M (development of M-4 Molot \/ NATO \"Bison\")<\/p><p style=\"margin:6px 0\"><strong>First flight:<\/strong> 29 April 1981 \u2014 with external cargo, 6 January 1982<\/p><p style=\"margin:6px 0\"><strong>Built:<\/strong> 2 aircraft<\/p><p style=\"margin:6px 0\"><strong>Max external payload:<\/strong> 50 tonnes<\/p><p style=\"margin:6px 0\"><strong>Total Baikonur missions:<\/strong> ~150<\/p><p style=\"margin:6px 0\"><strong>Replaced by:<\/strong> Antonov An-225 Mriya (1988)<\/p><p style=\"margin:6px 0\"><strong>Surviving airframes:<\/strong> 2 (Zhukovsky and Dyagilevo air bases)<\/p><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"max-width:560px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYo_h4bqLbO\/embed\/\" width=\"100%\" height=\"700\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowtransparency=\"true\" style=\"border:1px solid #ddd;border-radius:12px\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why the Soviets needed a flying truck<\/h2>\n<p>The Buran-Energia programme \u2014 the Soviet response to the American Space Shuttle \u2014 was built around two enormous components: the Energia heavy-lift rocket, which had a 7.7-metre-diameter core stage, and the Buran orbiter itself, which had a 23.92-metre wingspan and weighed about 62 tonnes empty. These components were manufactured at plants in Moscow and Kuibyshev. They had to reach the Baikonur Cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan \u2014 a distance of roughly 2,000 kilometres.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px\"><img data-opt-id=690753143  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/05\/vm-t-atlant-carrying-buran-shuttle-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Buran shuttle atop a VM-T Atlant\" style=\"display:block;width:100%!important;max-width:100%!important;height:auto!important;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The Buran space shuttle piggy-backed on a Myasishchev VM-T Atlant during transport to Baikonur. The vertical stabiliser of the Buran is removed for the flight. Photo: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Soviet railways could not handle them. The components were physically wider than the maximum allowed cross-section for rail transport between Moscow and Baikonur. The two ways out were either to build a brand-new rail line at vast expense \u2014 which the Soviet government rejected in 1978 \u2014 or to fly the components piggyback on an existing aircraft modified for the purpose.<\/p>\n<p>Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev's bureau, which had spent the 1950s building the M-4 Bison strategic bomber and then watched it become obsolete to ICBMs, was given the contract. The bureau had a stockpile of 3M airframes \u2014 the upgraded variant of the M-4 \u2014 sitting at depot. Three of these were converted into the VM-T configuration. The conversion was massive: the entire tail section was removed and replaced with twin oversize end-plate fins on a dihedral horizontal stabiliser, the fuselage spine was strengthened to carry external loads, and a specialised load-attachment frame was added.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The flying programme<\/h2>\n<p>The first VM-T flew without cargo on 29 April 1981. The first cargo flight followed on 6 January 1982. Operational missions started immediately. Between 1982 and 1989 the two operational VM-Ts (the third airframe was used as a ground test article) flew approximately 150 missions between Zhukovsky airfield, Kuibyshev (where the Energia core stages were assembled) and Yubileyniy airfield at Baikonur.<\/p>\n<p>The aircraft carried five different load configurations: the Buran orbiter with its vertical stabiliser removed; the Energia core stage; an upper-stage fuel tank that was three times the diameter of the VM-T's own fuselage; auxiliary booster sections; and an oversized fairing for non-shuttle payloads. The maximum external payload of 50 tonnes corresponded to a takeoff weight increase that pushed the modified 3M airframe to its limit.<\/p><h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The other 50-tonne flying truck<\/h2>\n<p>By 1988 the VM-T fleet was being phased out in favour of a much larger replacement \u2014 the Antonov An-225 Mriya. The Mriya was a clean-sheet design specifically built for the Buran-Energia programme, with six engines, a 88-metre wingspan and a 250-tonne payload capacity. The first Mriya was rolled out at Antonov's Kyiv factory in November 1988. It carried the Buran orbiter on its maiden public appearance \u2014 the 1989 Paris Air Show \u2014 strapped to its spine in a photograph that would become one of the most famous images in 1980s Soviet aerospace.<\/p>\n<p>The VM-Ts were retired from Buran service. The Buran programme itself was cancelled in 1993 after a single uncrewed orbital flight. The VM-Ts kept flying occasional cargo missions through the 1990s for the Russian space programme, then went into preservation. One airframe (RF-01502) is now at Zhukovsky International Airport in the care of TsAGI and the Gromov Flight Research Institute. The other (RA-01402) sits at Dyagilevo air base near Ryazan.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed\" style=\"margin:0 0 28px\"><div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/J-O_KXDMth4\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:6px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">VM-T Atlant: The Most Ridiculous Yet Genius Plane Ever Built \u2014 the full story of how the Soviets turned a cancelled strategic bomber into the Buran space shuttle's flying truck.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Mriya, of course, did not survive 2022. Russian forces destroyed the only flyable An-225 at Hostomel airfield outside Kyiv during the opening days of the war in Ukraine. The Buran orbiter that the Mriya carried at Paris in 1989 had already been destroyed in 2002, when the roof of its storage hangar at Baikonur collapsed.<\/p>\n<p>The two VM-T Atlants are now the only surviving aircraft directly associated with the Buran-Energia programme. They sit, large and improbable, on Russian airfields. The cargo they were built to carry \u2014 the Soviet shuttle, the Energia core, the dream of matching the American space programme \u2014 is gone. The aircraft themselves remain, like a pair of vast empty trucks parked on the runway of a closed factory.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sources: Myasishchev VM-T Wikipedia entry; Buran-Energia.com (Vincent Touche); GlobalSecurity.org; SimpleFlying; Russian Aviation magazine archives.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<!-- mf-faq -->\n\n<div class=\"mf-faq-block\"><style>.mf-faq-block{margin:34px 0}.mf-faq-item:not([open]) .mf-faq-answer{display:none !important}.mf-faq-block h2.mf-faq-h{padding-top:22px;margin-bottom:14px}.mf-faq-item{border:1px solid #e2e8f5;border-radius:8px;margin:0 0 10px;background:#fff}.mf-faq-item summary{list-style:none;cursor:pointer;padding:15px 50px 15px 18px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a1a;position:relative;line-height:1.45;user-select:none}.mf-faq-item summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mf-faq-item summary::after{content:\"+\";position:absolute;right:18px;top:50%;transform:translateY(-50%);font-size:1.5em;font-weight:400;color:#5C91FF;line-height:1}.mf-faq-item[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mf-faq-item[open] summary{border-bottom:1px solid #eef1f8}.mf-faq-item summary:hover{background:#f5f8ff}.mf-faq-answer{padding:14px 18px;color:#333;line-height:1.6}.mf-faq-answer p{margin:0}<\/style><h2 class=\"mf-faq-h\">Related Questions<\/h2><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>How was the Soviet Buran shuttle transported?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The Buran space shuttle and its Energia rocket parts were carried on the back of a Soviet aircraft, the Myasishchev VM-T Atlant. A modified bomber, it ferried the huge components to the Baikonur Cosmodrome strapped on top of its fuselage.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>What was the Myasishchev VM-T Atlant?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The VM-T Atlant was a Soviet heavy-transport aircraft built to carry oversized space hardware on its back. Based on the Myasishchev 3M bomber (a development of the M-4 Bison), it hauled the Buran shuttle and Energia rocket sections to the launch site.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>What aircraft carried the Buran on its back?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The Myasishchev VM-T Atlant, a converted Soviet bomber. It first flew in 1981 and could carry an external payload of up to 50 tonnes, flying roughly 150 missions to Baikonur before the larger Antonov An-225 took over the role in 1988.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>How much could the VM-T Atlant carry?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>It could carry an external payload of up to 50 tonnes mounted on top of its fuselage. Only two were built, and together they flew about 150 cargo missions supporting the Soviet Buran-Energia space programme.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>What replaced the VM-T Atlant?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The enormous Antonov An-225 Mriya, which first flew in 1988, took over carrying Buran and Energia components. Two VM-T Atlants survive today, preserved at the Zhukovsky and Dyagilevo air bases in Russia.<\/p><\/div><\/details><\/div>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How was the Soviet Buran shuttle transported?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Buran space shuttle and its Energia rocket parts were carried on the back of a Soviet aircraft, the Myasishchev VM-T Atlant. A modified bomber, it ferried the huge components to the Baikonur Cosmodrome strapped on top of its fuselage.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What was the Myasishchev VM-T Atlant?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The VM-T Atlant was a Soviet heavy-transport aircraft built to carry oversized space hardware on its back. Based on the Myasishchev 3M bomber (a development of the M-4 Bison), it hauled the Buran shuttle and Energia rocket sections to the launch site.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What aircraft carried the Buran on its back?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Myasishchev VM-T Atlant, a converted Soviet bomber. It first flew in 1981 and could carry an external payload of up to 50 tonnes, flying roughly 150 missions to Baikonur before the larger Antonov An-225 took over the role in 1988.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How much could the VM-T Atlant carry?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"It could carry an external payload of up to 50 tonnes mounted on top of its fuselage. Only two were built, and together they flew about 150 cargo missions supporting the Soviet Buran-Energia space programme.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What replaced the VM-T Atlant?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The enormous Antonov An-225 Mriya, which first flew in 1988, took over carrying Buran and Energia components. Two VM-T Atlants survive today, preserved at the Zhukovsky and Dyagilevo air bases in Russia.\"}}]}<\/script><!-- \/mf-faq -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The cargo on the back of the aircraft is roughly twice as wide as the aircraft itself. The cargo also weighs 50 tonnes. The cargo is a Soviet Buran space shuttle missing its vertical stabiliser, strapped to the spine of a strategic bomber from which the original tail surfaces have been removed and replaced with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":1323414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1323445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Soviet Bomber That Carried the Buran Shuttle on Its Back | Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The cargo on the back of the aircraft is roughly twice as wide as the aircraft itself. The cargo also weighs 50 tonnes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Soviet Bomber That Carried the Buran Shuttle on Its Back | Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The cargo on the back of the aircraft is roughly twice as wide as the aircraft itself. The cargo also weighs 50 tonnes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-28T15:07:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-17T07:48:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:1500\/h:1000\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/05\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-soviet-carrier.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Connor Kerr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Connor Kerr\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Connor Kerr\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9\"},\"headline\":\"The Soviet Bomber That Carried the Buran Shuttle on Its Back\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-28T15:07:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-17T07:48:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1136,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/05\\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-soviet-carrier.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"History &amp; Legends\",\"Military Aviation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Soviet Bomber That Carried the Buran Shuttle on Its Back | Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/05\\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-soviet-carrier.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-28T15:07:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-17T07:48:13+00:00\",\"description\":\"The cargo on the back of the aircraft is roughly twice as wide as the aircraft itself. The cargo also weighs 50 tonnes.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/05\\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-soviet-carrier.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/05\\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-soviet-carrier.jpg\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":1000},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Soviet Bomber That Carried the Buran Shuttle on Its Back\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"name\":\"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine\",\"description\":\"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"width\":897,\"height\":278,\"caption\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MiGFlug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/migflug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/migflug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/MiGFlug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ch\\\/migflug\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9\",\"name\":\"Connor Kerr\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Connor Kerr\"},\"description\":\"Connor Kerr writes MiGFlug\u2019s long-form features \u2014 aviation history, how-it-works explainers and the stories behind the headlines.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/author\\\/connorkerr\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Soviet Bomber That Carried the Buran Shuttle on Its Back | Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","description":"The cargo on the back of the aircraft is roughly twice as wide as the aircraft itself. The cargo also weighs 50 tonnes.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/","og_locale":"de_DE","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Soviet Bomber That Carried the Buran Shuttle on Its Back | Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","og_description":"The cargo on the back of the aircraft is roughly twice as wide as the aircraft itself. The cargo also weighs 50 tonnes.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/","og_site_name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","article_published_time":"2026-05-28T15:07:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-17T07:48:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1500,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:1500\/h:1000\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/05\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-soviet-carrier.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Connor Kerr","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@migflug","twitter_site":"@migflug","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Connor Kerr","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/"},"author":{"name":"Connor Kerr","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9"},"headline":"The Soviet Bomber That Carried the Buran Shuttle on Its Back","datePublished":"2026-05-28T15:07:32+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-17T07:48:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/"},"wordCount":1136,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/05\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-soviet-carrier.jpg","articleSection":["History &amp; Legends","Military Aviation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/","name":"The Soviet Bomber That Carried the Buran Shuttle on Its Back | Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/05\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-soviet-carrier.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-28T15:07:32+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-17T07:48:13+00:00","description":"The cargo on the back of the aircraft is roughly twice as wide as the aircraft itself. The cargo also weighs 50 tonnes.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/05\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-soviet-carrier.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/05\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-soviet-carrier.jpg","width":1500,"height":1000},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/myasishchev-vm-t-atlant-buran-soviet-shuttle-carrier-history\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Soviet Bomber That Carried the Buran Shuttle on Its Back"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","name":"Afterburner \u2013 MiGFlugs Magazin","description":"F\u00fcr alle, die sich f\u00fcr das Fliegen von Milit\u00e4rjets und verwandte Luftfahrtthemen interessieren.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization","name":"MiGFlug GmbH","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","width":897,"height":278,"caption":"MiGFlug GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","https:\/\/x.com\/migflug","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/migflug\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MiGFlug","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/migflug.com\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ch\/migflug\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9","name":"Connor Kerr","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Connor Kerr"},"description":"Connor Kerr schreibt die l\u00e4ngeren Artikel f\u00fcr MiGFlug \u2013 Luftfahrtgeschichte, Erkl\u00e4rungen zur Funktionsweise der Luftfahrt und die Geschichten hinter den Schlagzeilen.","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/author\/connorkerr\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1323445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1323445"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1323445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2684485,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1323445\/revisions\/2684485"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1323414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1323445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1323445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1323445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}