Material selection for aerospace structural and power plant units subjected to thermal stresses is based on thorough investigation of their physical, mechanical and optical properties in a wide range of temperatures up to 2500--3000 K, which are in practice the highest possible. However, it is exceptionally difficult and expensive to obtain the whole extent of data on the properties of structural and refractive materials currently in development that is required to analytically estimate the thermal state and performance of the structures designed to be subjected to thermal stresses. Moreover, the theoretical thermal state models in use are most often based on a number of assumptions, which means that they will need to be validated against experimental investigation data. As a result, integral methods of estimating material performance under intended real-world thermal and force loads become highly important. Ground-based development testing using simulation installations will solve this problem. While testing, it is important to ensure that the simulated thermal modes of the object being tested match its real-world thermal modes. The paper considers these issues regarding estimating refractory ceramics performance subjected to a high-temperature gas flow