The first project of Antonov that barely fit in their factory floor. An-223 mod.1977 2 is a stepping stone to what would eventually become AN-225. An-223 mod.1977 is first drafted in 1976 when the soviet government demanded an aeroplane that can carry as much cargo as possible and carry the Buran once its built. Antonov agreed to build such project and came uo with the first prototype; the An-223 mod.1977. The plane is a success among eastern bloc countries but its fuel efficiency is mediocre against other cargo planes provided by NATO, so it car realistically only travel between Moscow and St. Petersburg and still only have 50% of fuel left. Antonov sold 56 planes of this type but none survived today due to increase oil prices and the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991