Tupolev Tu-144 Supersonic Transport Family

The Tupolev Tu-144 was the Soviet Union's supersonic passenger-transport family and the first such design to fly. Its double-delta wing, high-speed propulsion, and later retractable foreplanes supported flight beyond Mach 2, but scheduled passenger service was brief. The final Tu-144D was later rebuilt as the Tu-144LL flying laboratory for a joint NASA-Russian program, extending the family into full-scale research on aerodynamics, structures, acoustics, heating, and handling for future supersonic transports.