Marker 1:The SR-71 Blackbird served NASA as a high-speed, high-altitude research aircraft capable of attaining altitudes above 85,000 feet with a cruising speed up to Mach 3.32 (2,193 mph). To enable it to withstand high temperatures generated by aerodynamic heating, the airplane was built primarily from titanium alloys, with special composite materials on the edges of the wings, the fuselage, and other areas to reduce radar cross-section.
Built in 1967, this airplane, SR-71A (AF 61-7980/NASA 844), was the final Blackbird built and the last to fly. Air Force crews flew it on operational reconnaissance missions over Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
After being transferred to NASA in 1990, it carried scientific experiments in support of spacecraft and aircraft development, astronomy, environmental monitoring, and sonic boom research. By its final flight, on October 9, 1999, the aircraft had completed 734 flights - 678 for the Air Force and 56 in NASA research missions - and accumulated 2,353.6 flight hours.
Marker 2:
J58 Engine
The SR-71 was powered by two Pratt & Whitney J58 turbojet engines. Built to operate at cruising speeds in excess of Mach 3 (more than 2,000 miles per hour) and at altitudes above 80,000 feet, the J58 was originally designed to meet a U.S.
Navy requirement. After cancellation of the engine's intended airframe (the Vought F8U-3), the engines were further developed for use in the A-12, YF-12, and SR-71.
Each engine provided 32,500 pounds of thrust. A variable geometry inlet diffuser and a complex bleed bypass system allowed for high efficiency in the Mach 2.0-3.2 flight regime. By controlling the location of the shockwave inside the inlet and allowing air to bypass the turbine section and go directly to the afterburner, the J58 could be operated as turbo-ramjet. During cruise, parts of the engine reached temperatures as high as 3,200 degrees Fahrenheit.
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