MOSCOW. Oct 22 (Interfax) - Roscosmos will invest 730 million rubles in building rigs for testing thermal insulation of future hypersonic vehicles, a statement publlished on the public procurement website said.
The state corporation has announced a tender for developing "ground-based experimental technology for testing hot strength, heat protection, and thermal insulation of hypersonic vehicles under temperatures of up to 2,500K with automatic control, 24 separate heat zones, and a 100MW capacity," the statement said.
The project, called Karagach, has a 730-million-ruble budget.
There is no scientific or technological groundwork available, the statement said.
The contractor is due to manufacture a trial batch of heat-resistant electrical insulators by November 15, 2021, to build a trial batch of testing rigs by November 15, 2022, and to carry out initial tests of the rigs by November 15, 2023.
Interfax reported earlier that Roscosmos was working on technology for manufacturing radio-translucent thermal insulation of hypersonic vehicles as part of the Tor project. The works are due to be completed by September 2020.
Boris Obnosov, who heads the Tactical Missiles Corporation, the leading designer of hypersonic vehicles, said that the creation of a nose cone capable of withstanding temperatures of the hypersonic flight was a key task of developers.
In addition, Roscosmos is looking for contractors to develop technologies of "thermo-mechanical tests of composite materials in a broad range of temperatures with programmable heat and mechanical conditions imitating those of a flight of prospective rocket and space hardware."
As reported earlier, Russia is testing the Tsirkon hypersonic anti-ship missile. President Vladimir Putin said that the missile will be able to hit ground and surface targets at distances of over 1,000 kilometers at a rough speed of Mach 9.