Photo: NASA/CIAM
So, you’re a speed addict, right? That Bugatti and Koenigsegg in the garage can’t satisfy your need to go faster and faster? Well, then you might need to ask the marines to give you a ride in a fighter jet catapulting from a carrier. Or you can just buy the fastest thing ever to travel around this planet - the Kholod hypersonic rocket.
Yep, RM Auctions is offering you a unique chance to buy one of the few remaining HFL Kholod rocket systems, made by NASA and the Russian Institute for New Propellants (CIAM) part of a $95 million joint venture project.
The name Kholod stands for “cold” in Russian, and that’s because the rocket is fueled by cryogenically cooled liquid hydrogen stored at 30 degrees Kelvin (-243C/-405F), a technology often referred to as “scramjet”.
What’s interesting about the Kholod rocket is that it was made to be small enough to replace the explosive warhead of an anti-aircraft missile (i.e. the tip). So basically, the jet engine pulls the rest of the rocket rather than push it. The Kholod sucks air through a doughnut-shaped inlet just bellow the pointy tip, then compresses it and feeds it to a circular combustion chamber. The exhaust hot gasses then are pushed throughout a ring-shaped nozzle and along the rest of the rocket’s body.
What’s in the rest of the rocket? Well, the fuel tanks and the conventional auxiliary propulsion system, which gives the rocket the initial speed to be able to turn on the tip rocket, which lacks the usual air compressor from standard jet engines to offer less weight.
How fast can one of these go? Well, the fastest Kholod reached a speed of MACH 6.47, which translates to 4,310 mph (6,936 km/h). Too bad you can’t ride the damn thing. But at least you can brag about owning the fastest “serial produced” vehicle that traveled through Earth atmosphere.
A total of nine Kholod rockets were made; five of them were destroyed during tests, while the other four survived. One is part of a private collection in the Middle East, two are placed in Kazahstan at the test sites and one is now offered for sale.
The auction will take place at RM’s upcoming London sale in Battersea Park on September 8th along with 70 handpicked automobiles. Don’t forget to check your bank account first, because that rocket won’t probably sell under a million.
The name Kholod stands for “cold” in Russian, and that’s because the rocket is fueled by cryogenically cooled liquid hydrogen stored at 30 degrees Kelvin (-243C/-405F), a technology often referred to as “scramjet”.
What’s interesting about the Kholod rocket is that it was made to be small enough to replace the explosive warhead of an anti-aircraft missile (i.e. the tip). So basically, the jet engine pulls the rest of the rocket rather than push it. The Kholod sucks air through a doughnut-shaped inlet just bellow the pointy tip, then compresses it and feeds it to a circular combustion chamber. The exhaust hot gasses then are pushed throughout a ring-shaped nozzle and along the rest of the rocket’s body.
What’s in the rest of the rocket? Well, the fuel tanks and the conventional auxiliary propulsion system, which gives the rocket the initial speed to be able to turn on the tip rocket, which lacks the usual air compressor from standard jet engines to offer less weight.
How fast can one of these go? Well, the fastest Kholod reached a speed of MACH 6.47, which translates to 4,310 mph (6,936 km/h). Too bad you can’t ride the damn thing. But at least you can brag about owning the fastest “serial produced” vehicle that traveled through Earth atmosphere.
A total of nine Kholod rockets were made; five of them were destroyed during tests, while the other four survived. One is part of a private collection in the Middle East, two are placed in Kazahstan at the test sites and one is now offered for sale.
The auction will take place at RM’s upcoming London sale in Battersea Park on September 8th along with 70 handpicked automobiles. Don’t forget to check your bank account first, because that rocket won’t probably sell under a million.
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