CIAM/NASA WIND TUNNEL MODEL, 1991.

CIAM/NASA WIND TUNNEL MODEL, 1991.
Metal test model, 126 inches in length, approximately 8-1/2 inches in diameter. Rotating tail fins. Contained in a white-painted fiberglass custom-fitted transport case wit red "NASA" lettering.
Provenance: Previously in the collection of Professor Alexander Roudakov, scramjet rocket engineer.

The collapse of the Soviet Union opened doors for Russian-US scientific collaboration with CIAM's (Russian Central Institute of Aviation Motors) promising work on scramjet technology in the HFL Kholod project. NASA backed the project from 1994-1998 with the missile reaching about Mach 6.5 during the final test – at the time the fastest vehicle to fly within the Earth's atmosphere. The present wind-tunnel model predates the collaboration on the HFL Kholod, but was a step along the way to that record-breaking achievement.