Tupolev Tu-2000
Tu-2000 | |
---|---|
Artist's impression of the Tu-2000 entering orbit around Earth | |
Role | technology demonstrator
|
Manufacturer | Tupolev OKB |
Status | Cancelled |
Number built | 0 |
Variants | Tupolev Tu-360 |
The Tupolev Tu-2000 was a planned hypersonic flight experimental aircraft designed by the Tupolev design bureau. It was intended to test technologies for a single-stage-to-orbit aerospaceplane and also the Tupolev Tu-360 intercontinental bomber.
Design and development
This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2021) |
Development of the Tu-2000 began in 1986 as a
The experimental technology demonstrator would have weighed 70–90 tonnes (150,000–200,000 lb) with a length of 60 m (196 ft), while the single-stage-to-orbit vehicle would have weighed 210–280 tonnes (460,000–620,000 lb) and carried a maximum payload of 10 tonnes (22,000 lb) into earth orbits 200–400 km (120–250 mi) high.[3]
Work on the project began in the 1970s. The Tupolev Design Bureau began the development of an
The reason for the appearance of the
The aircraft was designed as a
- 4 turbojet engines in the rear fuselage;
- 1 main accelerating wide-range ramjet (located at the rear of the fuselage);
- 2 liquid fuel rocket engines for maneuvering in vacuum (installed between the turbojets).
The large number of engines was required to optimize efficiency in different flight modes. Most of the aircraft's volume was occupied by liquid hydrogen fuel tanks. The crew of two people was located in the nose of the fuselage. An automatic crew rescue system was to provide an escape route at all altitudes. The bow section, including the cabin, was detachable. Two escape options were considered: rescued by parachute from the cockpit and an ejection seat.
The aircraft was designed with tricycle landing gear. The front gear had twin small diameter wheels with high pressure tyres. The main landing gear was to be single-wheeled, retracting to the fuselage compartments.
The VKS[
Acceleration of the work contributed to the information about the
It was planned to implement the project in two stages:
- Creation of a Tu-2000A aircraft with a flight weight of 70–90 tonnes (150,000–200,000 lb) and a speed of wing span of 14 m (46 ft); and a 70-degree leading edge wing sweep.
- The second stage assumed various implementation options: Tu-2000B, MVKS, and a hypersonic airliner.
- The Tu-2000B was a double bomber, which had a range of 10,000 km (5,400 nmi) and a take-off weight of 350 tonnes (770,000 lb). Six engines provided a speed of Mach 6 at an altitude of 30 km (19 mi).
- The MVKS version was to have a take-off weight of 260 tonnes (570,000 lb), a flight ceiling of over 60 km (200,000 ft), and a speed of Mach 15–25. It would carry a load of 8–10 tonnes (18,000–22,000 lb) into a 200 km (110 nmi) orbit.
- Detailed study of the hypersonic liner proposal was not carried out, because it was not considered a priority.
By the time of
Due to lack of funding in the summer of 1992, the project was declassified and had to be transferred to a commercial basis. The layout of the MVKS was presented at the Mosaeroshow-92 exhibition. The country's top leadership promised to support the project to raise the country's prestige, but did nothing. Soon, funding was discontinued altogether.
At 1995 prices, the cost of building one Tu-2000 was estimated at $450 million, and the cost of development work estimated as $5.29 billion. At a rate of 20 starts per year, the cost of one start should have been $13.6 million. With adequate funding, the project could have been completed in 13–15 years, but in 1993 the Tu-2000 was cancelled.
Specifications (Single-stage-to-orbit design)
Data from [3]
General characteristics
- Crew: two
- Capacity: 8,000 kilograms (18,000 lb) payload
- Length: 72 m (236 ft 3 in)
- Wingspan: 14 m (45 ft 11 in)
- Diameter: 13 m (42 ft 8 in)
- Max takeoff weight: 280,000 kg (617,294 lb)
- Powerplant: 7 ×
Performance
- Maximum speed: Mach 25 (in orbit)
References
- ^ a b Wade, Mark. "Tu-2000". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
This Soviet equivalent to the US X-30 single-stage-to-orbit scramjet aerospaceplane began development in 1986
- astronautix.com, Retrieved 24 April 2010
- ^ a b Gordon and Komissarov, 2013. Unflown Wings. Birmingham: Ian Allan Publishing. p. 75
External links
- SPACE TRANSPORT: Tupolev Tu-2000 Hyperplane – Russia
- "Tu-2000". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Mark Wade. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
This Soviet equivalent to the US X-30 single-stage-to-orbit scramjet aerospaceplane began development in 1986.