One of the highlights of my professional career as a remote sensing scientist was my participation in the joint US-Russian RAMOS (Russian-American Observation Satellites) program between 1994 and 2004 as a member of the American science team. The primary objective of the RAMOS program was to launch a pair of satellites into a 500-kilometer orbit to obtain stereo observations of clouds and other atmospheric phenomena with 100-meter footprints using a suite of instruments covering wavelengths from the ultraviolet out to the long-wave infrared to support the development of future early warning satellites (for more details, see “RAMOS: Russian American Observation Satellites“).
A 3D reconstruction of Mt. Whitney based on a stereo analysis of WB-57F ARES video images acquired on October 5, 1995. Click on image to enlarge. (A.J. LePage/Visidyne)
In the earliest phases of the program, we made joint observations of targets using existing air- and space-based assets as much for the purpose of the project’s American and Russian teams learning to work together as to gather data for scientific investigations. The most successful of these earliest missions involved joint observations of the region around Mt. Whitney in California’s Sierra Nevada range on October 5, 1995 using a Russian Resurs-O remote sensing satellite and a USAF/NASA WB-57F ARES (Airborne Remote Earth Sensing) aircraft (see “Clouds over Mt. Whitney: A 23-Year Tale of 3D Remote Sensing“). In our next cooperative effort between July 1997 and December 1999, the joint RAMOS team flew three observation campaigns using the USAF FISTA (Flying Infrared Signatures Technology Aircraft) aircraft. The FISTA aircraft (which was actually the second used in this long-running program) was a Boeing NKC-135E aerial refueling tanker that had been modified in 1995 to act as an instrument platform as well to gather data in support of various US Department of Defense research programs. In support of RAMOS, the FISTA aircraft was fitted with an extensive suite of American- and Russian-supplied instruments to gather data to refine the RAMOS science objectives and instrument requirements.
Three views of the Myasishchev M-55 Geophysica high-altitude aircraft. Click on image to enlarge. (Kaboldy)
As we were finalizing our experiment plans in the spring of 1999 for our last scheduled campaign using FISTA, our Russian partners proposed a follow-on effort using the Russian-built Myasishchev M-55 Geophysica high-altitude aircraft. The design of the single-seat M-55 Geophysica (also known by the NATO Codename “Mystic-B”) was tailored for scientific Earth environmental studies and was based on the earlier Myasishchev M-17 Stratosphera aircraft. First flown in December 1978, the M-17 Stratosphera (NATO codename “Mystic-A”) was meant to be used to intercept high-altitude reconnaissance balloons flying over Soviet territory as well as play a reconnaissance role itself. The M-55 Geophysica is powered by a pair of Soloviev D-30-V12 low-bypass turbofan engines generating 92 kilonewtons of thrust each – a variant of the same engine used in the MiG-31 fighter as well as many Soviet-era passenger jetliners. With a wingspan of 37.46 meters and a length of 22.87 meters, the M-55 Geophysica is capable of flying as high as 21.85 kilometers with an endurance of about 2¼ hours. At a lower altitude of 17 kilometers, the aircraft is capable carrying a 1,500-kilogram payload of instruments with an impressive endurance of 6½ hours. The M-55 Geophysica made its first flight on August 16, 1988 and is comparable in overall performance as well as mission to NASA’s ER-2 aircraft derived from the famous Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance plane.
Our first view of the M-55 Geophysica (No. 55204) in a hanger at the Zhukovsky Air Base in May 1999. Note the empty space in the nose for the aircraft’s scientific payload. (This and following images by A.J. LePage)
In May 1999, during one of our regular joint meetings in Moscow, we had a chance to see an M-55 Geophysica aircraft up close and personal when we were taken to the Zhukovsky Air Base about 40 kilometers southeast of Moscow. In addition to being the home of the Gromov Flight Research Institute and one of the longest runways in all of Europe (with a length of 5,403 meters!), the air base has hosted the biannual MAKS Air Show (Mezhdunarodnyj Aviatsionno-Kosmicheskij Salon or International Aviation and Space Show) since 1993. After passing an impressive array of aircraft parked on the tarmac, we reached an unimposing looking hanger housing a M-55 Geophysica. Unlike the sometimes sad state of the aircraft we had seen outside, M-55 Geophysica tail number 55204 (the third of four aircraft built) was in a gorgeous state and had obviously been meticulously maintained. We had the opportunity to inspect the aircraft up close and (thankfully for this article) take pictures.
While our team, which included a fair number of USAF personnel, were very impressed with the aircraft and its capabilities, in the end we did not exercise the option of using it for additional aircraft observation campaigns after 1999. Although for me the highlight of the tour of Zhukovsky Air Base in May 1999 was our stop to see the Buran OK-GLI used for approach and landing test flights of the Soviet space shuttle (see “The Day I Saw Buran”), it was still a thrill to catch a glimpse of the impressive Myasishchev M-55 Geophysica which is still flying scientific missions to this day.
The Buran OK-GLI as seen in outside storage at the Zhukovsky Air Base in May 1999. (A.J. LePage)
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Related Video
Here is a brief Russian-produced film showing the Myasishchev M-55 Geophysica doing its thing.
Here is some footage of the M-55 Geophysica (No. 55204 – the same aircraft I saw in May 1999) taken in the summer of 2017. The aircraft was participating in StratoClim – a collaborative research project funded by the European Commission 7th Framework program to produce more reliable projections of climate change and stratospheric ozone by improving the understanding of key processes in the Upper Troposphere and Stratosphere (UTS).
Related Reading
“The Day I Saw Buran”, Drew Ex Machina, April 12, 2014 [Post]
“RAMOS: Russian American Observation Satellites”, Drew Ex Machina, June 21, 2014 [Post]
“Clouds over Mt. Whitney: A 23-Year Tale of 3D Remote Sensing”, Drew Ex Machina, November 28, 2018 [Post]
General References
Yefim Gordon and Bill Gunston, Soviet X-Planes, Midland, 2000