The Soviet supersonic passenger aircraft Tu-144 was created in the Tupolev Design Bureau and became the first aircraft of this class in the world. This airliner first took to the sky on December 31, 1968, ahead of the British-French “Concord” by several months. The operation of the aircraft began in 1975 on the Moscow-Alma-Ata route. The use of the supersonic airliner on passenger flights ended in 1978, and they were subsequently used as flying laboratories. NASA used the TU-144 as supersonic training aircraft until 1998. Up to 150 passengers could be comfortably accommodated on board the aircraft. The flight speed was 2,300 km/h (Mach 2) and the cruising altitude was 16.000-17.000m. TU-144 with flight number USSR-77110 carried out regular passenger transportation in 1977-78, was a participant of the XXXII International Air Show in Le Bourget in 1977, receiving the exhibition number 345. In 1984, after completion of operation, the aeroplane was transferred to the Ulyanovsk Museum of Civil Aviation, where it remains today.