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TsIAM / NASA Kholod Scramjet Test Vehicle
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CIAM-NASA HFL "Kholod" | London 2014 | RM AUCTIONS
CIAM-NASA HFL "Kholod"
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Lot overview
This historic HFL Kholod rocket system is the result of a unique $95 million joint venture undertaken between NASA and the Russian Institute for New Propellants (CIAM) to develop a hypersonic machine that featured pioneering propulsion technology. This technology, fuelled by cryogenically cooled liquid hydrogen and often referred to as a “scramjet”, propelled the rocket to a speed of MACH 6.47 (or 4,310 mph).
In short, the Kholod rockets were the fastest machines ever to run within Earth’s atmosphere. This is one of only three remaining examples, and it is a perfect opportunity for collectors of aerospace memorabilia.
DSE: Note the scramjet did NOT propel the rocket. It was a captured propulsion test and the scramjet at best produced some additional thrust (drag decrement) to the rocket propelled test.
CIAM-NASA HFL "Kholod"
Without Reserve
Lot overview
This historic HFL Kholod rocket system is the result of a unique $95 million joint venture undertaken between NASA and the Russian Institute for New Propellants (CIAM) to develop a hypersonic machine that featured pioneering propulsion technology. This technology, fuelled by cryogenically cooled liquid hydrogen and often referred to as a “scramjet”, propelled the rocket to a speed of MACH 6.47 (or 4,310 mph).
In short, the Kholod rockets were the fastest machines ever to run within Earth’s atmosphere. This is one of only three remaining examples, and it is a perfect opportunity for collectors of aerospace memorabilia.
DSE: Note the scramjet did NOT propel the rocket. It was a captured propulsion test and the scramjet at best produced some additional thrust (drag decrement) to the rocket propelled test.
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NASA and Russia collaborate on a scramjet. On February 12, 1998, CIAM and NASA conducted a dual-mode scramjet flight test at the Sary Shagan test range in Kazakhstan. The scramjet engine was mounted on a modified Russian SA-5 missile, which provided initial thrust via four solid rocket boosters. After burnout, the main liquid-fueled rocket engine took over. At 38 seconds, with the vehicle at Mach 3.5, the scramjet engine began combustion, monitored through onboard sensors measuring pressure, temperature, and other parameters. The main rocket engine cutoff came at around Mach 6.4.
The flight lasted approximately 115 seconds before a pre-programmed command terminated the test, and the vehicle followed a ballistic trajectory, impacting 150 kilometers downrange. The primary aim was to validate the scramjet's design under actual flight conditions, focusing on achieving stable supersonic combustion.
The Test Results. The 1998 NASA report claimed the flight achieved full supersonic combustion, with preliminary wall pressure measurements and post-flight analysis supporting this. The successful restart of the engine and its stable operation at Mach 6.4 were considered significant milestones, validating the engine's design and cooling system under flight conditions. The report stated, "Preliminary wall pressure measurements and postflight analysis confirm that full supersonic combustion was achieved in the engine."
However, later analyses provided more nuanced interpretations.
The Bouchez paper concluded both subsonic and supersonic combustion modes were achieved, noting, "CIAM analyzed the flight and the ground tests of the engine, concluding that air intake was started as predicted, both subsonic and supersonic combustion were achieved, computed thrust should have led to accelerate the vehicle in case of autonomous flight, ground testing combustion was very close to flight one, despite the incoming air vitiation effect."
Conversely, the Voland paper stated, "One of the stated goals of this joint flight and ground test program was to demonstrate supersonic combustion in flight. As the above analysis shows, this goal was not achieved even though pretest predictions by both NASA and CIAM indicated supersonic combustion would be achieved," adding, "At the maximum flight Mach number, the engine operated as a dual-mode scramjet in a subsonic combustion mode." These discrepancies underscore the complexities in validating supersonic combustion under flight conditions.
Initially I had read the first NASA paper and went with that analysis, until someone pointed out that there was conflicting data evaluations across different sources. I would say that it is often a good idea to research more than one source in order to get an objective view.
Roudakov, A. S., Semenov, V. L., & Hicks, J. W. (1998). Recent Flight Test Results of the Joint CIAM-NASA Mach 6.5 Scramjet Flight Program. NASA Technical Paper 1998-206548.
Bouchez, M., Roudakov, A. S., Kopchenov, V. I., Semenov, V. L., & Scherrer, D. (2012). French-Russian Analysis of Kholod Dual-Mode Ramjet Flight Experiments. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Retrieved from http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2005-3320
Voland, R. T., Auslender, A. H., Smart, M. K., Roudakov, A. S., Semenov, V. L., & Kopchenov, V. (2012). CIAM/NASA Mach 6.5 Scramjet Flight and Ground Test. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Retrieved from http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2005-3320
The flight lasted approximately 115 seconds before a pre-programmed command terminated the test, and the vehicle followed a ballistic trajectory, impacting 150 kilometers downrange. The primary aim was to validate the scramjet's design under actual flight conditions, focusing on achieving stable supersonic combustion.
The Test Results. The 1998 NASA report claimed the flight achieved full supersonic combustion, with preliminary wall pressure measurements and post-flight analysis supporting this. The successful restart of the engine and its stable operation at Mach 6.4 were considered significant milestones, validating the engine's design and cooling system under flight conditions. The report stated, "Preliminary wall pressure measurements and postflight analysis confirm that full supersonic combustion was achieved in the engine."
However, later analyses provided more nuanced interpretations.
The Bouchez paper concluded both subsonic and supersonic combustion modes were achieved, noting, "CIAM analyzed the flight and the ground tests of the engine, concluding that air intake was started as predicted, both subsonic and supersonic combustion were achieved, computed thrust should have led to accelerate the vehicle in case of autonomous flight, ground testing combustion was very close to flight one, despite the incoming air vitiation effect."
Conversely, the Voland paper stated, "One of the stated goals of this joint flight and ground test program was to demonstrate supersonic combustion in flight. As the above analysis shows, this goal was not achieved even though pretest predictions by both NASA and CIAM indicated supersonic combustion would be achieved," adding, "At the maximum flight Mach number, the engine operated as a dual-mode scramjet in a subsonic combustion mode." These discrepancies underscore the complexities in validating supersonic combustion under flight conditions.
Initially I had read the first NASA paper and went with that analysis, until someone pointed out that there was conflicting data evaluations across different sources. I would say that it is often a good idea to research more than one source in order to get an objective view.
Roudakov, A. S., Semenov, V. L., & Hicks, J. W. (1998). Recent Flight Test Results of the Joint CIAM-NASA Mach 6.5 Scramjet Flight Program. NASA Technical Paper 1998-206548.
Bouchez, M., Roudakov, A. S., Kopchenov, V. I., Semenov, V. L., & Scherrer, D. (2012). French-Russian Analysis of Kholod Dual-Mode Ramjet Flight Experiments. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Retrieved from http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2005-3320
Voland, R. T., Auslender, A. H., Smart, M. K., Roudakov, A. S., Semenov, V. L., & Kopchenov, V. (2012). CIAM/NASA Mach 6.5 Scramjet Flight and Ground Test. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Retrieved from http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2005-3320
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