Aviation / Supersonic Aircraft3D reconstruction of a Tupolev Tu-144 (NATO reporting name "Charger").(Retired jet airliner; which was the world's first commercial supersonic transport aircraft. It is one of only two SSTs to enter commercial service; the other being the Anglo-French Concorde. The design was constructed in the Soviet Union under the direction of the Tupolev design bureau; headed by Alexei Tupolev. Throughout its 55-flight operational history; the Tu-144 flew at an average service altitude of 16;000 metres (52;000 ft) and cruised at a speed of around 2;000 kilometres per hour (1;200 mph).The prototype first flew on 31 December 1968 near Moscow; two months before the first flight of Concorde. On 26 May 1970 became the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2. A Tu-144 crashed in 1973 at the Paris Air Show; delaying its further development. The aircraft was introduced into passenger service on 1 November 1977; almost two years after Concorde. The aircraft remained in use as a cargo aircraft until 1983).3D Reconstruction (2016).