Tupolev Tu-144 History and Background Andrei Nicholayvich Tupolev was born in 1888 and was responsible for the design of many Russian aircraft. He acted as the general designer for the Tu-144 and after his death in 1972 was succeeded by his son, Alexei. The Tu-144 was originally designed as a supersonic transport for service in the Russian airline industry. A total of 17 Tu-144's were manufactured, including a prototype and five D models. Because the results will help them design a future supersonic passenger transport, which will carry 300 passengers at more than twice the speed of sound.
Speed is the key here, because the faster a plane flies, the more heat builds up on it.
Researchers want to identify areas of temperature increase to help them decide what materials to use, and how to manage the heat on the next-generation supersonic passenger jet. The engines on this future aircraft will have to be unlike anything that flies today, including durable enough to withstand hours of flying at supersonic speeds. A major challenge is determining how to build engines that will stand up to the tremendous heat generated by flying at such high speeds for long periods. Experiment 1.5 will provide invaluable data on the temperatures within an engine compartment at both subsonic and supersonic speeds. When an airplane is landing, air pressure builds up between the plane and the ground.