The Tupolev Tu-144 was the Soviet rival to the Anglo-French Concorde, but its rushed development made it notoriously unreliable and unpleasant to fly.
The Tupolev Tu-144 was the Soviet rival to the Anglo-French Concorde, but its rushed development made it notoriously unreliable and unpleasant to fly.
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The plane's engines did not have a reverse thrust function, which required the deployment of drag chutes during landing.
The plane's engines did not have a reverse thrust function, which required the deployment of drag chutes during landing.
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A Tu-144 prototype at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport in 1969. The plane was 213 feet long and had a wingspan of 94 feet. It had a top cruising speed of just over 1,500 miles per hour.
A Tu-144 prototype at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport in 1969. The plane was 213 feet long and had a wingspan of 94 feet. It had a top cruising speed of just over 1,500 miles per hour.
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View of the wreckage of the Tupolev 144 that crashed during the Paris air show in 1973, killing all six on board and eight on the ground, and destroying 15 houses in Goussainville, France.
View of the wreckage of the Tupolev 144 that crashed during the Paris air show in 1973, killing all six on board and eight on the ground, and destroying 15 houses in Goussainville, France.
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A Tupolev Tu-144 in flight over Moscow as part of a NASA-sponsored research project in 1998.
A Tupolev Tu-144 in flight over Moscow as part of a NASA-sponsored research project in 1998.
NASA
A modified Tu-144 aircraft, which had flown for less than 100 hours, was used as a supersonic flying laboratory at the Zhukovsky Air Development Center near Moscow.
A modified Tu-144 aircraft, which had flown for less than 100 hours, was used as a supersonic flying laboratory at the Zhukovsky Air Development Center near Moscow.
NASA
The retractable canards on the head of the aircraft were one of the plane's most interesting design aspects, providing much needed extra lift. Some blamed the Paris Air Show crash on an espionage attempt from France to try and capture the secrets of this feature.
The retractable canards on the head of the aircraft were one of the plane's most interesting design aspects, providing much needed extra lift. Some blamed the Paris Air Show crash on an espionage attempt from France to try and capture the secrets of this feature.
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A French Rafale fighter jet perfoms in front of a Russian Tu-144 during the 2009 MAKS Air Show.
A French Rafale fighter jet perfoms in front of a Russian Tu-144 during the 2009 MAKS Air Show.
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A visitor takes a picture in front of a Tu-144 at the MAKS-2007 at the Zhukovsky Airfield outside Moscow.
A visitor takes a picture in front of a Tu-144 at the MAKS-2007 at the Zhukovsky Airfield outside Moscow.
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A modified Tupolev Tu-144 touches down and deploys drag chutes following a test flight at the Zhukovsky Air Development Center near Moscow in July 1997.
A modified Tupolev Tu-144 touches down and deploys drag chutes following a test flight at the Zhukovsky Air Development Center near Moscow in July 1997.
NASA
The TU-144 was nicknamed "Concordski" in the West because of its similarity to the Anglo-French Concorde.
The TU-144 was nicknamed "Concordski" in the West because of its similarity to the Anglo-French Concorde.
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"It was a unique revolutionary project that was way ahead of its time. For the first time its creators were solving a large number of scientific and technical problems in the area of aerodynamics, thermoregulation, automation, control systems, stability, reliability, navigation, aviation materials among others," said Soviet aviation expert Ilya Grinberg.
"It was a unique revolutionary project that was way ahead of its time. For the first time its creators were solving a large number of scientific and technical problems in the area of aerodynamics, thermoregulation, automation, control systems, stability, reliability, navigation, aviation materials among others," said Soviet aviation expert Ilya Grinberg.
Nasa
"The Soviet designers and scientists acquired sufficient data on aerodynamics of a large supersonic plane from test flight program of the first Tu-144 prototype to figure out the problems and took a cue from Concorde to advance their knowledge base," said Grinberg.
"The Soviet designers and scientists acquired sufficient data on aerodynamics of a large supersonic plane from test flight program of the first Tu-144 prototype to figure out the problems and took a cue from Concorde to advance their knowledge base," said Grinberg.
NASA
Only 17 Tu-144s were ever built, and only a few remain, with most having been scrapped.
Only 17 Tu-144s were ever built, and only a few remain, with most having been scrapped.