NASA’s Russian Tupolev 144 SST, more money spent on the U.S. airliner industry

Before conversion to NASA’s ‘LL’ configuration. NASA photo, 1995.

17MAR1996 rollout of Tu-144LL at Zhukovsky Air Development Center near Moscow, Russia. A joint project between Russian Aeronautics Establishment, NASA, Boeing, McDonnell-Douglas, Rockwell, and others.

NASA photo, 17MAR1996.

LL stands for Letayuschaya Laboratoriya, which means Flying Laboratory. The intent was to develop a practical SST (Super Sonic Transport) for the 21st Century, to be built in the United States. The NASA led program was paid for by U.S. taxpayers and corporations. It was hoped that a market for SST aircraft would reveal itself in the 2020s.

NASA photo, July 1997, Zhukovsky Air Development Center near Moscow, Russia.

Zhukovsky Air Development Center near Moscow, Russia. NASA photo by Jim Ross, September 1998.

Test flights began in June 1996 and ended in April 1999.

NASA photo by Jim Ross, September 1998.

Tu-144LL had Kuznetsov NK-321 turbofan engines (same as those used on the Tu-160 strategic bombers) rated at more than 55,000 pounds of thrust in full afterburner.

NASA photo, 1996.

NASA’s computer room for data collection from Tu-144LL. The effects of flight on the real Tu-144LL was compared to data collected from models used in wind tunnels.

NASA photo by Jim Ross, September 1998.

This photo was taken in 1998, note that some of the names of the sponsoring companies have been removed from the fuselage.

NASA photo by Jim Ross, September 1998.

In 1998 two NASA pilots conducted three flights to test handling of the SST at subsonic and supersonic speeds.

NASA photo by Jim Ross, September 1998.

A 2014 NASA statement, updated in 2017, simply says the data collected will be used to build a future SST that can meet specific goals; strict noise and air-pollution standards, carry 300 passengers at least 5,000 miles at a cost per passenger of no more than 20% above subsonic airliners flying the same routes. However, a 2009 NASA report, also updated in 2017, states that “…an economically viable SST could not be envisioned near enough to further justify U.S. industry commitment.”

As far as what happened to the Tu-144LL, it was last seen rotting away at the Zhukovsky International Airport.