Kholod facts for kids
The Kholod (which means "Cold" in Russian) was a very special rocket project developed in Russia. It wasn't just any rocket; it was designed to fly incredibly fast, much faster than the speed of sound!
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What Was the Kholod Rocket?
The Kholod rocket project aimed to build a vehicle that could reach amazing speeds. Its main goal was to test a special type of engine called a scramjet. This engine helps rockets fly at "hypersonic" speeds, which means super-fast, many times the speed of sound.
The Scramjet Engine: How It Works
A scramjet engine is different from regular rocket engines. Instead of carrying all its oxygen, it scoops up oxygen from the air as it flies. This makes it lighter and able to go much, much faster. The Kholod rocket was designed to fly faster than Mach 5.75. To give you an idea, Mach 1 is the speed of sound. So, Mach 5.75 is almost six times the speed of sound! That's incredibly fast!
Building the Kholod Prototype
The first test version, or "prototype," of the Kholod rocket was quite impressive. It used parts from other well-known rockets. For example, it included parts from a Soyuz TMKB rocket and used liquid hydrogen as fuel. It also had modified parts from the SA-5 Gammon rockets.
The complete Kholod rocket, including its starting blocks (which was like a mobile laboratory), was about 12 meters (almost 40 feet) long. That's as long as a large school bus! It was also 750 millimeters (about 2.5 feet) wide.
Kholod's Amazing Flights
The Kholod project had several test flights to see how well its special engine worked. These flights were very important for learning about super-fast flight.
International Cooperation and Record Speed
One of the most exciting moments for the Kholod project happened on February 12, 1998. For its fourth flight, the American space agency, NASA, actually worked together with the Russian team! This shows how countries can cooperate on big science projects.
During this flight, the Kholod rocket reached an incredible speed of Mach 6.4! This was a huge achievement and helped scientists learn a lot about hypersonic flight.
The Cost of Innovation
Developing such advanced technology is very expensive. About 95 million United States dollars were invested in the Kholod project. This huge amount of money shows how important and complex this rocket research was. It helped pave the way for future super-fast aircraft and rockets.
