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NASA's aim to bring the SR-71 back could make it EVEN FASTER

Sandboxx

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NASA seems to be working quietly to bring the last SR-71 Blackbird ever built out of retirement and back into flight status… and if recent reporting from The Warzone proves true, it may be getting new engines that make it even faster.

Check out The Warzone’s SR-71 Reporting:
https://www.twz.com/air/former-sr-71-...
https://www.twz.com/air/could-nasas-s...

Check out our previous SR-72 coverage:
The SR-72 is REAL — And we can prove it
Lockheed's spending BILLIONS on a SECRET A...
Has the SR-72 finally entered production??

Rotating Detonation Engines:
Figuring out GE Aerospace's hypersonic air...
Lockheed and GE join forces on a new HYPER...

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Citations:
NASA quietly removes SR-71 from storage amid X-plane push (Aviation Week) https://aviationweek.com/defense/airc... NASA SR-71B flight with F-18 chase aircraft (NASA) https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/sr... Did NASA's administrator just tease an SR-71 follow-on X-plane? (The War Zone) https://www.twz.com/air/did-nasas-adm... Former SR-71 engineer talks NASA's Blackbird revival program (The War Zone) https://www.twz.com/air/former-sr-71-... NASA asked several former SR-71A staffers to help secret restart (Aviation Week) https://aviationweek.com/defense/airc... Could NASA's SR-71 be modified to reach Mach 4? (The War Zone) https://www.twz.com/air/could-nasas-s... Ben Rich on the SR-71 (PDF) https://s3images.coroflot.com/user_fi... SR-71 flight hour history (Air & Space Forces Magazine) http://airandspaceforces.com/?p=178306 MiG-25 service history and speed limits (GlobalSecurity) https://www.globalsecurity.org/milita... Boeing boasts near-Mach 3 top speed for F-15EX (Aviation Week) https://aviationweek.com/shownews/sin... J58 engine history (Aircraft Engine Historical Society) https://www.enginehistory.org/GasTurb... Hermeus completes hypersonic milestone with engine tests (Hermeus) https://www.hermeus.com/article/herme... Hermeus unveils Ramjet-X (Hermeus) https://www.hermeus.com/article/herme... GE Aerospace and Lockheed Martin demonstrate rotating detonation ramjet (GE Aerospace) https://www.geaerospace.com/news/pres... Talon-A hypersonic vehicle (Stratolaunch) https://www.stratolaunch.com/vehicles... DART AE scramjet test vehicle (Hypersonix) https://www.hypersonix.com/technology... NASA's plan to launch hypersonic Phoenix missiles from an F-15 (Sandboxx News) https://www.sandboxx.us/news/nasas-ha... The SR-72 timeline: from initial design to Top Gun's Darkstar (Sandboxx News) https://www.sandboxx.us/news/the-sr-7...

20 Comments

@mattywanders 13 hours ago

I would love to see this fly again. My grandma worked for Lockheed for over 30 years from the late 50s to the late 80s. She was attached to Skunk Works for a majority of her career doing metal fabrication. She worked on U2's, helped build every A12 & SR71, and was even there for the early R&D/ production of the F117. I wish she was still living so I could talk to her about it. I can't help but think of her every time I see a Blackbird.

@ahill209 16 hours ago

New engines would be a very significant modification. In addition to engine performance, electrical, hydraulic, and environmental control systems all depend on the engine, those systems would also need to be re-engineered. The B-52 engine upgrade is having those same challenges. I remember a Boeing engineer telling me once they had no idea whether the hydraulic pumps on the engine were over-spec'd or not, since nobody could locate the original electrical generator spec.

@alphazuluz 12 hours ago

I would toss the whole family in the car, take a week off work, and drive 24 hours one way to see the blackbird fly at an airshow.

@JackFright 15 hours ago

So long as we get an updated story of a speed check, I'm all for it ;)

@ASeventhSign 14 hours ago

Sandboxx needs a channel with SR-71 content all day, all night.

@StridentSloth 16 hours ago

As long as we get some sick flyovers, I'm happy.

@jjhead431 15 hours ago

F-14 back, SR-71 back...😍

@austinmifsud2697 15 hours ago

You legitimately gave me shivers with those words. "Return of the blackbird".

@chrissschwehr5911 15 hours ago (edited)

The speed limit on the SR-71 was not the airframe. It was the engine. If you put a multi-mode turbo-ram/scram jet in it you can push it a lot faster....and I think this is exactly what NASA is doing now.
Note: As for the airframe's stated Mach 4 limit, there have been huge advances in heat shielding that could very well be applied to the leading edges and nose of the aircraft. I think the quartz cockpit "windows" can withstand a bit more heat than the fuselage too....So who knows, we could possibly see an attempt to make the old girl go hypersonic?

@billtheengineer 14 hours ago

SR-71D: the sub-orbital Blackbird.
The sky is no longer the limit. 🧑🏼‍🚀🛰️

@05SiLLYrado 15 hours ago

Great job Alex and Sandboxx crew. It’s awesome how you, Alex, explain it to a level where non-aviation folks can understand. Especially since not only does Sandboxx drop news for Aviation folks, but also for those whom are not keen on Aviation “speak.”

@85Strider 15 hours ago

I loved working on them - coolest plane ever.

@Koldunya81 14 hours ago

that child-like grin/glee when delivering the airpower line lol.

@davidangeron3365 16 hours ago

The Glorious YF-12A!!! Legendary!!!

@johneichsteadt4432 12 hours ago

To really flight test an engine at over Mach 3.5+, you need an airframe capable of handling that speed for prolonged periods. I makes sense to pull out an airframe that you already know is capable of it rather then spending the money to develop on from scratch. This is meant to be an engine test, after all. Once the engine passes all the testing, you can start testing on the new airframe and know that any weirdness is due to the airframe and not the engine.

@Glasher1 11 hours ago

Back in '76, maybe '77 at Ellsworth AFB in SD, A SAC base at the time. An SR-71 landed then was surrounded by security, hooked to a tow vehicle and was escorted into a B-52 hanger, the hanger doors closed shut with high security all around. I was on the flightline the next day when it left. Often when an aircraft, unusual to the base, comes to the base, either prior to landing or when it departs will give a little example of it's abilities. When that SR-71 hit the runway all work on the flightline stopped and all were watching. Five minutes passed then ten minutes. Pretty much all went back to work figuring it wasn't to happen. I waited. A few minutes later it came screaming in and pulled up mid runway with the sound of it's engines far behind. It flew straight up and continued to until it was out of sight. Unforgetable!

@darkfox77 14 hours ago

This excites me. Love your content

@saquist 14 hours ago

Your best video, yet

@SciDerg 15 hours ago

The best part is that they don't even have to bring the SR-71 back into flight readiness to pull this off, new engines or no.
All they have to do is pull the one that's in the best shape off the display stand, say they're going really high and fast again against a backdrop of a familiar shadowed silhouette, and then actually just be flying the SR-72 and not putting the SR-71 in the air *at all*.
The US is all too familiar with psyops, this could totally just be another one of those.