[Myrddin]

I worked with a GM engineer who had close ties to work done with the SR-71. One of the shuttle missions had a problem with damaged tiles. There was concern about whether it could return safely. An SR-71 was sent up at an appropriate time to sync with the passing shuttle. The SR-71 rolled inverted and photographed the passing shuttle. The resolution was good enough to read the serial numbers off the tiles and verify satisfactory integrity for normal return flight.

[Agamemnon]

BoT: I’ve also read that the planes constantly leak fuel because no sealant will withstand the heat.

M: One of the shuttle missions had a problem with damaged tiles.

When I was undergrad in the late 1970's early 1980's at VCU my independent research in Organic Chemistry during my Senior year was done under contract my research mentor had secured with NASA to develop the heat resistive polymers which affixed the tiles to the Space Shuttle.

FReegards!

[Charles Martel]

An SR-71 was sent up at an appropriate time to sync with the passing shuttle. The SR-71 rolled inverted and photographed the passing shuttle.

Wow. I hadn't really considered that possibility, but that must be a big part of why NASA decided to keep a few SR-71s flying into the 1990s.