Hacker News Reader

In the 90s, NASA refurbished and extensively modified a mothballed supersonic Soviet-era Tu-144. The modifications included fitting different (Tupolev) engines. The total cost was $350M. It was used as a flying laboratory.

View on HN

Guessing this project was also a way to pay Russian engineers while the Soviet Union collapsed with the goal to do "technology transfer" and prevent them from working for NK and the like as a way to make ends meet.

Yep. After the collapse of the USSR, the US Congress and NASA funded the International Space Station program in part to keep Russian rocket scientists gainfully employed. That way they wouldn't be tempted to go work for Iraq / Iran / North Korea / China.

The US also employed Soviet nuclear scientists for similar reasons.

https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2016/06/cooperation-u-s-ru...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com