Thanks njslim, nice extra to APoD and X-Planets.
Contrary to the frequent denials (even around here), LBJ ordered the tooling and dies for the SR-71 destroyed, pursuant to Soviet complaints and fears that the info would wind up being used against us — the same thinking that prevented US use of the Browning in WWI. An idea had been pitched to develop follow-ons to the SR-71, including a Mach 3 fighter and Mach 3 strategic bomber. Some of the SR-71s were “culled” as parts sources, and the remaining planes were fanatically maintained.
At least one idiot commander tried to get them mothballed because, just before takeoff, they leak fuel (there are tiny slots in the corrugated alloy skin of the thing, to prevent deformation of the surfaces as they reach operational temperature, which happens in a matter of minutes; the slots close from the heat; and in case I’d not mentioned it, Clarence was a blankin’ genius.), and it was messing up his pretty runway. He probably arranges flowers for the Obama White House now.
Ben Rich succeeded Kelly Johnson at the helm of Lockheed’s Skunk Works, but the R&D for the SR-71 successor was started long ago. The SR-71 itself was designed without a contract, as the foresaw the gap between the U2 (also from the Skunk Works) and satellites. Rich pulled some leftover cold-war supersonic surveillance drones (the others had been tested in east to west overflights of China), going back to that successful engine design for a test bed.
Due to the general interest in Area 51 (ever wonder why the UFO community had its attention directed toward that base, and by whom? The crashed UFO debris storage facilities are nowhere near there), Joe-average journalism photographers managed to watch the skies pretty well, and from time to time spotted some of the prototypes. When Rich was asked about one of the photos, he blandly answered, you’d have to be using cryofuels to get a contrail like that. Heh.
From time to time over the years, these “Tokyo Express” type vehicles have appeared in speculative cover stories in Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, etc, while the “real” research coverage wound up being done on NASA hypersonic X-vehicles (failures, mostly) of various kinds. Also, the British Skylon has been written about here and there, here’s a couple recent from PopSci and FR:
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-08/runway-orbit-and-back
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2964097/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2724559/posts