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Posted on 09/25/2026 6:06:24 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
...satellite imagery shows the jet has not been seen since at least May 17. The aircraft in question, which originally carried the U.S. Air Force serial number 61-7980, was the last Blackbird produced and the last one to fly, taking to the skies for the final time in 1999.
NASA has now provided TWZ with the following statement in response to our queries for more information about SR-71 tail number 844:
“NASA has a long history of pushing the boundaries of experimental aviation, and we continue to explore opportunities to build on that legacy. As Administrator Isaacman has said, we want to see NASA flying higher, farther, and faster than we have in decades. We recognize the interest in the SR-71 and its remarkable history at NASA but have no additional information to share regarding the aircraft at this time.”
(Excerpt) Read more at twz.com ...
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—”Check Walmart parking lots.”
Unsure why, but that triggered a serious laughing fit; still chuckling.
A mythological archetype, deep in the cob webs of my brain...
I watched one make the turn to final into Randolph right before that year’s air show. It was truly a spectacular sight. I was a law clerk, my boss had been a fighter pilot (burned up at the end of the runway at Cam Rahn Bay but survived) and he knew I was (at the time) an Air Force brat. He yelled down the hall to me and we watched it together. Nobody else at the firm had any idea why we were so excited.
Colonel, USAF JAGC (Ret)
We're different...
Thanks, I have read that and much more if only I could remember more details.
Good to read again.
Everything about the SR-71 is interesting.
The real story is why don't we make a new one and the sad answer is that we probably can't, such is our decline from greatness.
“the Navy had been flamed, all mortal airplanes on freq were forced to bow before the King of Speed,”
“The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys”
I have heard talk that NASA is going to explore high speed flight and that they are currently working to pull parts from retired jets to get an SR-71 flying as part of that effort.
X-59 is just about done with flight testing and it would seem like they are now expanding on that portfolio into other X-plane development exploration.
Hmmmm. When I was in the Air Force the tail number was the last 3 digits of the serial number and the year produced was also on the tail in smaller letters.
Every time I go to Ft. Walton Beach, I pass by a SR-71 sitting in front of the armament museum near Eglin AFB. It’s just sitting there with several other planes, almost inconspicuous with regard to it’s high performance pedigree. Sort of fitting, actually.
Every time I go to Ft. Walton Beach, I pass by a SR-71 sitting in front of the armament museum near Eglin AFB. It’s just sitting there with several other planes, almost inconspicuous with regard to it’s high performance pedigree. Sort of fitting, actually.
A force field?
How about heat distortion? still cooling from its last flight?
Would you believe someone didn’t want their vehicle/location shown in the photo?
“The real story is why don’t we make a new one and the sad answer is that we probably can’t, such is our decline from greatness.”
No, it’s because everything the BB could do, satellites and drones can now do better, cheaper, and faster. And without endangering humans.
I was an ECM officer. Literally everything I did, except get shot at and look at the window to confirm targets is done by drone.
Love that story!!
—”Maybe it is now invisible to satellites.”
Who knew?
Are you authorized to discuss such information?
THIS IS NOT A SECURE LINE!
—————-
See: SR-72
That, or there are other of their craft in the background they’re not ready to talk about...
I actually have a copy of Sled Driver in PDF format. Great read!
—”I helped design electronic diagnostic test systems for the Blackbird”
THAT IS SOME COOL STUFF!
I have been around some interesting projects, nothing as cool as a SR_71 and have been retired for many years; clearances and NDAs, long expired, and still hard to talk about in public.
NSA Project Tempest was one; even the name was classified!
Today the internet tells all about it.
The building’s ownership has changed, but it was hiding in plain sight, adjacent to a public lobby, and could still be in use?
Another fun one was the Chicago ATT Long Lines Building... the building without any windows for the first eight (?) floors.
Most people who worked in the area never noticed the lack of windows?
Today there are websites that map and discuss the windowless AT&T buildings around the country.
https://www.businessinsider.com/att-buildings-around-us-reportedly-used-as-part-of-nsa-spying-2018-6
I used to work with a former Blackbird pilot, over drinks he told me lots of 80s Cold War stories that were fantastic but I suspect I might be arrested if I ever relayed them to anyone. Still, really interesting stuff.
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