Editing Tupolev Tu-144 (section)

===Entry into service===
The introduction of the Tu-144 into passenger service was timed to the 60th anniversary of the [[October Revolution|Communist revolution]], as was duly noted in Soviet officials' speeches delivered at the airport before the inaugural flight – whether the aircraft was actually ready for passenger service was deemed of secondary importance. Even the outward details of the inaugural Tu-144 flight betrayed the haste of its introduction into service: several ceiling panels were ajar, service trays stuck, window shades dropped without being pulled, reading lights did not work, not all toilets worked and a broken ramp delayed departure half an hour. On arrival to Alma-Ata, the Tu-144 was towed back and forth for 25 minutes to align it correctly with the exit ramp.{{sfn|Moon|1989|p=195}} Flight testing time logged on the prototype (68001) was 180 hours;<ref name="GordonRigmant2005" />{{rp|page=44}}<ref name="bliznyuk2000-ch13">{{cite book |last1=Bliznyuk |first1=Valentin |display-authors=etal |author-link1=Valentin Bliznyuk |title=Правда о сверхзвуковых пассажирских самолетах |trans-title=The Reality of Supersonic Passenger Airplanes |url=https://www.testpilot.ru/review/sst/3/13.htm |language=ru |chapter=13. Участие специалистов гражданской авиации в разработке и испытаниях самолета |date=10 March 2024 |publisher=Московский рабочий |trans-chapter=13. The Participation of Civil Aviation Experts in the Development and Testing of the Aircraft |isbn=978-5-239-02044-9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101003135825/http://www.testpilot.ru/review/sst/3/13.htm |archive-date=3 October 2010 |access-date=31 July 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> flight testing time until the completion of state acceptance tests was 1509 hours,<ref name="bliznyuk2000-ch15">{{cite book |last1=Bliznyuk |first1=Valentin |display-authors=etal |author-link1=Valentin Bliznyuk |title=Правда о сверхзвуковых пассажирских самолетах |trans-title=The Reality of Supersonic Passenger Airplanes |url=https://www.testpilot.ru/review/sst/3/15.htm |language=ru |chapter=15. Совместные государственные испытания самолета Ту-144 |date=10 March 2024 |publisher=Московский рабочий |trans-chapter=15. Joint State Testing of the Tu-144 Aircraft |isbn=978-5-239-02044-9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090608192432/http://www.testpilot.ru/review/sst/3/15.htm |archive-date=8 June 2009 |access-date=31 July 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> followed with 835 hours of flight time of service tests until the commencement of passenger service.<ref name="bliznyuk2000-ch16">{{cite book |last1=Bliznyuk |first1=Valentin |display-authors=etal |author-link1=Valentin Bliznyuk |title=Правда о сверхзвуковых пассажирских самолетах |trans-title=The Reality of Supersonic Passenger Airplanes |url=http://www.testpilot.ru/review/sst/3/16.htm |language=ru |chapter=16. Эксплуатационные испытания самолета Ту-144 |date=10 March 2024 |publisher=Московский рабочий |trans-chapter=16. Operational Testing of the Tu-144 Aircraft |isbn=978-5-239-02044-9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091221071050/http://testpilot.ru/review/sst/3/16.htm |archive-date=21 December 2009 |access-date=31 July 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Tu-144S went into service on 26 December 1975, flying mail and freight between Moscow and [[Almaty|Alma-Ata]] in preparation for passenger services, which commenced on 1 November 1977. The type certificate was issued by the [[USSR]] Gosaviaregister on 29 October 1977.<ref name="Maloy2012">{{cite book |last=Малой |first=Б. С. |date=2012 |editor-last=Пухов |editor-first=А. А. |title=Практическая сертификация авиационной техники: учебно-методическое пособие для студентов вузов, аспирантов, молодых специалистов |trans-title=Practical Certification of Aviation Equipment: Educational and Methodological Manual for University Students, Postgraduates, Young Specialists |url=https://search.rsl.ru/ru/record/01006537048 |language=ru |location=Moscow |publisher=Ваш полиграфический партнер |isbn=978-5-4465-0032-1 |access-date=8 February 2018 |archive-date=8 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208182912/https://search.rsl.ru/ru/record/01006537048 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The passenger service ran a semi-scheduled service until the first Tu-144D experienced an in-flight failure during a pre-delivery test flight, crash-landing on 23 May 1978 with two crew fatalities.<ref name="TU144 Accidents">{{cite web |url=http://www.tu144sst.com/accidents/accidentsindex.html |title=Accidents/Incidents |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429074830/http://www.tu144sst.com/accidents/accidentsindex.html |archive-date=29 April 2016 |url-status=live |website=TU144sst.com |access-date=31 July 2011}}</ref> The Tu-144's 55th and last scheduled passenger flight occurred on 1 June 1978.

An [[Aeroflot]] freight-only service recommenced using the new production variant ''Tu-144D'' ("D" for ''Dal'nyaya'' – "long range"){{citation needed|date=January 2024}} aircraft on 23 June 1979, including longer routes from Moscow to [[Khabarovsk Novy Airport|Khabarovsk]] made possible by the more efficient Kolesov RD-36-51 turbojet engines, which also increased the maximum cruising speed to Mach 2.15.<ref name="NASA Tu-144LL">{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-062-DFRC.html |title=The Tu-144LL: A Supersonic Flying Laboratory |editor-last=Curry |editor-first=Marty |date=15 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026172537/http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-062-DFRC.html |archive-date=26 October 2011 |url-status=dead |publisher=[[NASA]] |website=Dryden Flight Research Center: Fact Sheets |access-date=31 July 2011}}</ref>

There were only 103 scheduled flights before the Tu-144 was removed from commercial service.