Tupolev Tu-155

{{Short description|Soviet experimental aircraft}}  {{Infobox aircraft |name = Tu-155 |image = File:CCCP-85035 Tupolev Tu.155 (7286104458).jpg |caption = СССР-85035 |type = [[Alternative fuel]] testbed aeroplane |national_origin= Soviet Union |manufacturer = [[Aviakor]] |designer = |first_flight = 15 April 1988 |introduction = |produced = |status = Cancelled |primary_user = [[Tupolev|Flight Testing Base of the Tupolev Design Bureau]] |more_users = |number_built = 1 |unit cost = |developed_from = [[Tupolev Tu-154]] }}

The '''Tupolev Tu-155''' is a modified [[Tupolev Tu-154]] (СССР-85035) which was used as an [[alternative fuel]] testbed, and was the world's first experimental aircraft operating on [[hydrogen]] and later [[liquefied natural gas|liquid natural gas]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1 = Graham E. Dorrington |author2=Glenn Baxter |author3=Cees Bil |author4=Aleksandar Subic |author5=Pavel M. Trivailo |url= https://researchrepository.rmit.edu.au/esploro/outputs/9921859017601341 |title= Prospects for Liquefied Natural Gas and other Alternative Fuels for Future Civil Air Transportation |journal= Proceedings of the 15th Australian International Aerospace Congress (AIAC15) |location= Melbourne, Australia |year=2013 |publisher= Royal Aeornautical Society, Australia Division |pages = 116–125 |language= en }}</ref> The similar '''Tu-156''' was never built.

==Design and development== The Tu-155 first flew on 15 April 1988. It used first liquid hydrogen and later [[liquefied natural gas]] (LNG). It flew until the demise of the [[Soviet Union]] and it is currently stored at [[Ramenskoye Airport]] near [[Zhukovsky, Moscow Oblast|Zhukovskiy]]. The Tu-156 was intended to fly circa 1997, but was cancelled due to the end of the Soviet Union.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} The aircraft used [[cryogenics]] to store fuel. The Tu-155 was a hybrid, only one of its three Kuznetsov NK-8 engines (they are now called NK-88) was actually powered by hydrogen.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://blog.privatejetfinder.com/tu-155-hydrogen/ | title=The Tupolev which flew on hydrogen 32 years ago | date=27 September 2020 }}</ref> The fuel tank was located in the air-blown (or [[nitrogen]]) rear compartment. A distinctive feature of the aircraft is that the protrusion of the ventilation system is visible on the tail (near the no. 2 engine). The Tu-155 used [[Kuznetsov NK-88]] engines. The Tu-156 was intended to use [[Kuznetsov NK-89]] engines.<ref>Dmitriy Komissarov, Tupolev Tu-154, the USSR's Medium-Range Jet Airliner, (Hinckley, UK, 2007), 48–50. {{ISBN|1-85780-241-1}}</ref> The Tu-155 flew approximately 100 flights before it was placed in storage. However, only some flights were performed with hydrogen. From January 1989, Tupolev was mainly testing natural gas as a substitute for kerosene.

[[File:Tupolev Tu-155.jpg|thumb|The alternative fuel Kuznetsov Engine]]

==See also== {{Portal|Aviation}} {{aircontent |related= * [[Tupolev Tu-154]] |similar aircraft= |lists= * [[List of experimental aircraft]] * [[Hydrogen-powered aircraft]] }}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130218231656/http://www.tupolev.ru/English/Show.asp?SectionID=82 Tu-155 hydrogen-powered aircraft details] * [https://www.avia.ru/pr/?id=11633 20 Years from the first flight of Tu-155] * [https://aviatia.net/tupolev-tu-155/ Tu-155 aircraft details] * [https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/tu-155.htm Tu-155 / Tu-156] {{Tupolev aircraft}}

[[Category:Hydrogen-powered aircraft]] [[Category:1980s Soviet experimental aircraft]] [[Category:Tupolev aircraft|Tu-0154]] [[Category:Trijets]] [[Category:T-tail aircraft]] [[Category:Low-wing aircraft]] [[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1988]] [[Category:Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear]] [[Category:Aviation technology demonstrations]]