Flightline: 203 - Myasishchev M-17 Stratosfera / M-55 Geofizika
Developed late in the 1970s, the M-17 was designed for recon and high altitude research, and the follow-on M-55 continues these missions today
Subject 34
In order to gain intelligence on the Soviet Union during the early Cold War period, the US instituted a series of ultra-high altitude balloon launches under codenames like MOGUL, SKYHOOK and MOBY DICK. To combat these intrusions, the Soviet Union instructed the V. M. Myasishchev Experimental Design Bureau (OKB-23) to develop an interceptor capable of flying at the extreme altitude needed to shoot down the American balloons. Myasishchev's designers proposed a single seat aircraft with long wings and a twin-boom fuselage powered by a non-afterburning engine and armed with two missiles and a turret housing two 23mm cannon. Given the codename Subject 34, the aircraft was nicknamed Chaika ("Seagull") due to its anhedral wings.
Orthograph of Subject 34 (here incorrectly labeled M-17). | Photo: secretprojects.co.uk
Development of the Chaika was long in coming, with the first taxi tests occurring in 1978, well after the US balloon launches were ended by the rise of the CIA's Corona satellites and the A-12 OXCART. During one of the taxi tests, the pilot was forced to take off prematurely to avoid a snow drift, and the plane impacted a hill due to reduced visibility, ending development of Subject 34.
Into the Mystic...
Looking to replicate the performance of the CIA's U-2, Myasishchev adapted the Chaika's design, removing the turret and missile rails as well as shortening the fuselage, resulting in the M-17 Stratosfera. Powered by a single Kolesov RD-36-51 turbojet engine, the plane was almost 23 meters long, with a 40 meter wingspan and a height of 4.8 meters. The M-17 had an empty weight of fourteen thousand kilos and a max weight of nearly twenty thousand, with 7,900kg of aviation fuel providing a range of five thousand kilometers and an endurance of 2.25 hours. The plane could achieve a ceiling of 21,500m, taking nearly 35 minutes to get there. Maximum speed was 743kmh at altitude, dropping to 332kmh at 5,000m, and with the engine off the Stratosfera had a glide ratio of 30:1.
Orthograph of the M-17. | Illustration: O. Podkladov
Maiden flight of the M-17 (s/n CCCP 17401) was on 26 May 1982, and the aircraft was allocated the NATO codename 'Mystic'. Missions undertaken by the VVS prior to the fall of the Soviet Union are not known, but 17401 was used in 1990 to set an altitude record of 21,830 meters for Class C-1i aircraft, one of 12 FAI records held by the Stratosfera, and in 1992 one of the aircraft studied ozone levels over Antarctica. At least one M-17 is on display at the Russian Central Air Force Museum at Monino, strangely enough with a turret mounted on the dorsal side.
M-17 s/n CCCP 17103 at Monino. | Photo: Lestocq
into the mystic, again
Myasishchev began working on a refined variant of the Stratosfera, and in 1988 the M-55 Geofizika took its maiden flight. Featuring a longer fuselage, shorter wings and two turbofans, the M-55 was given the NATO designation Mystic-B, making the M-17 retroactively the Mystic-A.
Orthograph of the M-55. | Illustration: Kaboldy
The M-55 has a slightly smaller wingspan than the M-17, 37.46m vs 40.32m, and the wings have a moderate leading-edge sweep. The Geofizika is slightly longer than its predecessor, 22.867m vs 22.27m, but both aircraft are the same height. Owing to its pair of Soloviev D-30-V12 low-bypass turbofans and increased fuel capacity, the M-55 is heavier, with an empty weight of nearly 14,000kg, and a max TO weight of 23,800kg. The more powerful turbofans give the aircraft a maximum speed of 750kmh at 20,000m, and the increased fuel allows the plane to stay in the air for six and a half hours at 17,000m. Four M-55s were known to have been completed, along with a single M-55UTS two-seat trainer, which added a second cockpit behind the original, which cut down on the operational equipment load, but otherwise the planes have identical flying characteristics. Like the M-17, the Geofizika has racked up an impressive set of world records, 15 total from the FAI, including a record altitude (class C-1j - Landplanes: take-off weight 20,000 to 25,000 kg (44,000 to 55,000 lb) of 21,360m set on 21 September 1993 by Victor Vasenkov. The extreme altitude and long endurance capabilities of the M-55 have seen it take part in numerous studies of the stratosphere over both the Arctic and Antarctic areas. In 2009, the Irish telecommunications company Qucomhaps entered into a deal with Myasishchev to develop the M-55 as a high-altitude communications platform for areas not served by traditional services.
Diagram of the proposed services Qucomhaps was looking to develop. | Illustration: Qucomhaps
The M-55UTS trainer in 2020. | Photo: Lirelou
Cosmopolis XXI
In the late 2000s, a consortium of Myasishchev, Roscosmos, and Space Adventures were investing in a modified version of the Geofizika, the M-55X, to act as a launch aircraft for a tourist space plane. Originally called the C-21, after Space Adventures bought into the project the vehicle was renamed Explorer. Essentially the same idea as Mojave Aerospace's Tier One (which has matured into Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo and SpaceShip III), or Scaled Composites Stratolaunch/Roc and Sierra Navada's Dream Chaser spaceplane, the plan was to offer rides for up to three passenger on a TSTSO (Two-Stage to SubOrbit) trajectory from a Space Adventures Spaceport.
Artist's concept of the C-21 spaceplane on the back of an M-55X mothership. | Illustration: bestrusiantour.com
Space Adventure's involvement ended in 2010 due to mounting costs, and development of the M-55X ended. In 2019 the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON), which is managed by the Russian Academy of Sciences, was reported to be developing a new, reusable TOSTSO unmanned spaceplane which would be launched from an M-55 mothership to either high altitude or suborbit under the acronym MLD. The development of MLD is still ongoing, so perhaps the M-55 might have a second life yet.
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Comments (3)
Do you do requests? Because I kinda wanna see you take a look at the KAI FA-50 snd other similar aircraft of its kind, the “light fighter” jets.
Oh, I kinda like the Golden Eagle! Yeah, I can add that one to the queue.
Looks like a Harrier bred with a Cessna Birdog.