Return of the SR-71?

[onewhippedpuppy]

As an aviation geek, this is beyond cool…..

https://aviationweek.com/defense/aircraft-propulsion/nasa-asked-several-former-sr-71a-staffers-help-secret-restart

Personally I think it’s part of a new program to build a modern version of the Blackbird, but we’ll see. I’m forever disappointed that I never saw it fly.

[greglepore]

Its very cool, but it sounds like Jared wants to blow a giant pile of taxpayer money on a vanity project. Juice not worth the squeeze.

[GH85Carrera]

I got to see a SR-71 come to an Oklahoma City air show. It was cool seeing it make a few passes over the area, and land. And it was on display for the duration of the show.

I have read rumors of a successor aircraft called the SR-72. I am skeptical.

[afterburn 549]

You may see it as rouse as it's an antique compared to what's in use today.
In 1975, it was touted that a satellite could read the headline of a newspaper in Red Square.
Next, they have the other secret satellites, WAY better than the 1975 version, plus a few other planes like the Aurora, maybe a lot better? But I am not privy to those.
Well. I am not privy to any of it; it's just public information.

[BK911]

Airplanes are so yesterday.
The "new" tic tac craft is here with plasmoid propulsion.
SR71 too slow and restricted by conventional physics.
Exciting times!

[Racerbvd]

[flatbutt]

Why use the SR platform when satellites can do it all?

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Why use the SR platform when satellites can do it all?

So pilots can have fun asking for ground speed checks? That's probably my favorite blackbird story...

[onewhippedpuppy]

I work in this space gents, airborne intelligence gathering is alive and well. There’s a lot that you can’t do with a satellite.

[afterburn 549]

Explain how so ?
Thanx

[CurtEgerer]

My guess would be that satellites are on a predictable orbital path and that the bad guys know exactly where those satellites are and when and could either cover bad things up or plan around them? A new version of a SR-71 would be completely unpredictable and go anywhere at anytime.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Long list, lots of which can’t be posted here. But it’s not like the spy movies.

Certain sensors don’t work from space.
Data resolution is in many cases less from space than a manned aircraft.
Satellites are a known commodity, they generally follow the same path daily, and our enemies know that schedule. Don’t want America to see something? Don’t leave it outside for the 15 minutes daily that we survey that area.
Harder to make real time decisions with satellite images compared to an operator on an aircraft, many require post processing to be usable.
Airplanes can be retasked at a moments notice, are more difficult to track, and can hide in plain sight.
Satellites are VERY expensive, and yes even DoW has a budget.
Aircraft can stay on station for much longer.
In the event of a no kidding shooting war with a near peer, our satellites are toast.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

You may see it as rouse as it's an antique compared to what's in use today.
In 1975, it was touted that a satellite could read the headline of a newspaper in Red Square.
Next, they have the other secret satellites, WAY better than the 1975 version, plus a few other planes like the Aurora, maybe a lot better? But I am not privy to those.
Well. I am not privy to any of it; it's just public information.

Yea, that is BS, and not possible through miles of atmosphere. And in 1975 they had to use film. We fly most of our aerial projects at 4,000 feet and can resolve a 2 centimeter pixel. So something on the ground 2 CM is visible as a single pixel with no detail.

At a 2 cm resolution humans are just a blob and the shadow is what lets us know it is a human.

The read the newspaper in Red Square was just to rile up the Russians.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Long list, lots of which can’t be posted here. But it’s not like the spy movies.

Certain sensors don’t work from space.
Data resolution is in many cases less from space than a manned aircraft.
Satellites are a known commodity, they generally follow the same path daily, and our enemies know that schedule. Don’t want America to see something? Don’t leave it outside for the 15 minutes daily that we survey that area.
Harder to make real time decisions with satellite images compared to an operator on an aircraft, many require post processing to be usable.
Airplanes can be retasked at a moments notice, are more difficult to track, and can hide in plain sight.
Satellites are VERY expensive, and yes even DoW has a budget.
Aircraft can stay on station for much longer.
In the event of a no kidding shooting war with a near peer, our satellites are toast.

The last line here is another good reason to have a magnetic compass and know how to use it!

[KNS]

Like many I am excited if the SR-71 returns to flight. The hurdles that lie ahead are many and complex but with enough money and motivation… I do have my doubts, though.

I mentioned this in the Aviation thread - NASA took a WB-57 out of storage at Davis Monthan AFB that had been sitting outside for 40 years and returned it to flight status. Far simpler airframe of course but it’s not completely unprecedented.

[fanaudical]

I read an article somewhere (can't find it) that speculated that this particular SR-71 is coming out of retirement for high-speed flight testing / aerodynamics study and that NASA is reviving its X-plane program.

[Neilk]

Some thought perhaps they were renovating it so it looks good when they reveal the SR-72. If the SR-71 does come out of retirement, I will certainly make every effort to go see it do a flyby at an air show.

[Steve Carlton]

That thing is half space ship, half plane. This is the one at Evergreen in McMinnville, OR:

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

I read an article somewhere (can't find it) that speculated that this particular SR-71 is coming out of retirement for high-speed flight testing / aerodynamics study and that NASA is reviving its X-plane program.

NASA has already made a public statement that they are reviving their X-plane program, with a SR-71-ish looking silhouette as the background. This is returning to their roots in a way, public research that helps to advance American aerospace industry.

An SR-71 like aircraft designed with modern tech has the potential to be incredible. The SR-71/A-12 was actually proposed and tested as an attack aircraft but it never got traction due to politics. The Ben Rich book “Skunkworks” is a great read, and a great reminder that often times politics trumps capability.

[fanaudical]

Technical note: I think one of the hardest bits of reviving the SR-71 will be recreating fuel and lubricants (or maybe NASA is looking to experiment with alternate fuels/lubricants).