PROPERTY FROM THE MAHARAM FAMILY COLLECTION
Wind Tunnel Test Model
Manufactured by NASA in Collaboration With the Russian Central Institute of Aviation Motors (CIAM), ca. 1994
Lot Closed
July 18, 03:12 PM GMT
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 USD
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Description
Metal alloy
Fiberglass test model finished in high-gloss metallic paint, 10 feet 4 inches long with 4 rotating tailfins measuring 26 inches across, and 4 fixed nosefins each 9 inches across. Housed in the original 10 foot 8 inch long, heavy-duty NASA hinged transport case.
Ex Air & Space Collection of scramjet rocket engineer, Professor Alexander Roudakov;
Private collection, acquired from the above
A RARE TEST MODEL IN ORIGINAL NASA CASE, AN ARTIFACT OF EARLY SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA TO REVOLUTIONIZE AEROSPACE ENGINEERING.
A complete, aerodynamic wind tunnel test model from the largest aerospace testing facility in Europe, the Central Institute of Aviation Motors (CIAM). Constructed ca. 1994 in a joint effort between the Russian Central Institute of Aviation Motors (CIAM) and the American National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA), the present lot represents an early stage of research that would later lead to the Hypersonic Flying Laboratory (HFL) Kholod project.
The HFL Kholod project revolutionized aerospace by pioneering supersonic combustion ramjet, or "scramjet," technology. In its final test in 1998, the Kholod rocket reached approximately Mach 6.5, becoming the fastest vehicle to fly within Earth's atmosphere at the time.
Made in the years leading up to this record-breaking achievement, the present lot originates from the Air & Space collection of Professor Alexander Roudakov, one of the key scramjet rocket engineers involved in the historic project.