OpenMates:

There are a few "gigantic" airplanes famous for transporting rockets and their components. Depending on whether you mean a plane that carries parts inside it or one that carries a whole shuttle on its back, you are likely thinking of one of these: ### 1. Antonov An-225 Mriya The **[Antonov An-225 Mriya](wiki:Antonov_An-225_Mriya)** was the heaviest aircraft ever built and had the largest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service. It was originally designed by the [Soviet Union](wiki:Soviet_Union) in the 1980s specifically to transport the **[Buran space shuttle](wiki:Buran_(spacecraft))** and components of the **[Energia rocket](wiki:Energia_(rocket))** on its back. ### 2. NASA Super Guppy If you mean the bulbous, strangely-shaped plane that "swallows" rocket parts, that is the **[NASA Super Guppy](wiki:Aero_Spacelines_Super_Guppy)**. It is used by [NASA](wiki:NASA) to transport oversized cargo, such as the **S-IVB stage of the [Saturn V](wiki:Saturn_V) rocket** during the [Apollo](wiki:Apollo_program) era and, more recently, components for the **[Artemis](wiki:Artemis_program)** moon missions. Its nose hinges open to allow massive parts to be loaded directly into its fuselage. ### 3. Stratolaunch "Roc" The **[Stratolaunch Roc](wiki:Scaled_Composites_Stratolaunch)** currently holds the record for the world's longest wingspan (385 feet). Unlike the others, it is designed as a **mobile launch platform** to carry rockets to high altitudes between its twin fuselages and release them into space. **Which one looks most like the one you saw?** - The **An-225** (Soviet/Ukrainian) is a massive six-engine jet. - The **Super Guppy** (NASA) looks like a giant, inflated whale. - The **Stratolaunch** has two separate bodies (twin-fuselage). Would you like to know more about the history of the [An-225 Mriya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-225_Mriya) or how the [Super Guppy](https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/flights/guppy.html) works?

Sources used

• The antonov-225 mriya super-heavy transport aircraft conducting its first flight carrying the soviet space shuttle, buran, may 1989. from popularmechanics.com via images
• Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo transporter from britannica.com via images
• The AN-225 Antonov "Mriya" ("Dream") aircraft was originally built to transport Soviet-era Buran space shuttles. from space.com via images
• NASA’s Super Guppy Is Transporting Rocket Parts for the 2025 Moon Landings from interestingengineering.com via images
• The Orion horizontal transporter is fit-checked with the NASA Super Guppy aircraft at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. from nasa.gov via images
• r/interestingasfuck - NASA has a plane called Super Guppy that's designed to transport rockets, large equipment and even other planes from reddit.com via images
• Stratolaunch ROC from jetsprops.com via images
• cnet-stratolaunch-2 from cnet.com via images
• Stratolaunch ROC from jetsprops.com via images

OpenMates:

Yes, you're exactly right! Airbus used the original NASA-style **Super Guppies** until the 1990s, but they eventually built their own specialized versions to transport massive wings and fuselage sections between their factories across Europe. The aircraft you are thinking of is the **Airbus Beluga**. There are two generations: ### 1. Airbus BelugaST (The Original) Introduced in 1995, the **BelugaST** (Super Transporter) was based on the Airbus A300-600. It was designed specifically to replace the aging Super Guppy fleet. For nearly 30 years, it was the workhorse that connected Airbus production sites in France, Germany, the UK, and Spain. ### 2. Airbus BelugaXL (The New Version) The "new version" you mentioned is the **BelugaXL**, which entered service in 2020. Based on the much larger **Airbus A330**, it was built to keep up with the production of the A350 jetliner. * **Capacity:** It can carry **two A350 wings** at once, whereas the original Beluga could only carry one. * **The "Smile":** It is famous for its "smiling whale" livery, which was chosen by Airbus employees in a company-wide vote. ### Why are they used? Airbus builds different parts of its planes in different countries (e.g., wings in the UK, tails in Spain, fuselages in Germany). Because these parts are too large to fit on trains or standard cargo planes, the Beluga "swallows" them through a massive front-opening door and flies them to final assembly lines in **Toulouse, France**, or **Hamburg, Germany**. Would you like to see a [video of how they load a wing](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=airbus+belugaxl+loading+wing) into the BelugaXL, or are you interested in how it compares to Boeing's version, the [Dreamlifter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Dreamlifter)?

Sources used

• An iconic Airbus BelugaST readies for new mission in the UK from airbus.com via web
• Airbus Beluga XL or BelugaXL, renowned as the world's largest cargo aircraft, touched down at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) in Kolkata from aviationa2z.com via images
• Transporting parts: The Beluga’s main job for almost two decades was to ferry parts of other Airbus aircraft across the company’s various European facilities. from cnn.com via images
• A set of Airbus A350 XWB wings being loaded into an Airbus BelugaXL aircraft. from simpleflying.com via images
• The Airbus A330-743L Beluga XL 6 lands at Toulouse Blagnac Airport in Toulouse, France, on June 24, 2025. from gettyimages.com via images