Aurora/SR-72/SR-91 ?

What I do know is that Aerojet Rocketdyne just within the last few years has been able to build a much more successful combine cycle engine  that didn’t melt away after running for a few minutes. The recent advances in 3d metal printing technology has helped them build in much better cooling fluids channels thru the combustion chamber.  If there still moving forward 🤷🏻‍♂️

NASA funded the engine side of that project in…2014-2015(?)…well…back then I believe they gave Lock-Mart some $ & Rocketdyne some $ to continue development of the combined cycle system…and I think Rocket developed a demonstrator via another DARPA program…or actually flew it in another project…which I’m thinking people are still associating with the SR72 program…? 

Some folks have even reached as far as to say the c-c engines will be in the F47; but, who knows…that doesn’t make sense…all the while…the 47 does have some design elements from the bird that Maverick flew in the recent movie 🤣

The F47 engine either from Pratt &Whitney or General Electric turbofan but 6th generation tech. My feeling is that they are going to push forward with the SR72 mainly for 2 reasons both drone and hypersonic are the future,  put them together well that become pretty potent threat. Just my opinion. 

There is an ongoing AFRL (Air Force Research Lab) project called Mayhem. It has a lot of similarities in this project that mirrors what the SR72 would be used for, well trying to accomplish. The SR72 would be used by the Air Force so maybe it’s the same project but just different sides of it.  Rocketdyne is owned by Lockheed. 

Everyone knows the SR-71 Blackbird. Far fewer people know that before the Air Force ever flew it, the CIA was secretly operating an even faster version of the same design, and would deny its existence for the next 30 years.

That aircraft was the Lockheed A-12, code named Oxcart. It was the Blackbird's predecessor, designed by the same legendary team at Lockheed's Skunk Works under Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, and it flew first. Where the SR-71 was a two seat aircraft built for and flown by the US Air Force, the A-12 was a single seat machine built in secret for the Central Intelligence Agency.

A SECRET FROM THE START

The A-12 was created to solve one Cold War problem: how to fly over hostile territory, photograph it, and get out before anyone could react, all without sparking a war. It first flew in 1962 and was declared operational in 1965. The program was classified so deeply that for decades the government would not admit the aircraft existed. It was only acknowledged publicly in the 1990s, long after it had stopped flying.

FASTER THAN THE PLANE IT INSPIRED

Here is the part that surprises even aviation fans. The famous SR-71 is usually called the fastest of its kind, but the CIA's A-12 was actually a touch faster and flew higher. Being smaller and lighter than the Air Force version, it reached sustained speeds around Mach 3.29 at altitudes near 90,000 feet. The Blackbird everyone remembers was the more capable all rounder, carrying a wider array of sensors, but the CIA's plane was the quicker of the two.

FLYING THE REAL MISSIONS

The A-12 did not just sit on a runway. A small fleet flew real reconnaissance missions over Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, and the type's final operational flight was over North Korea in 1968, after the seizure of the American ship USS Pueblo.

HANDING OFF THE LEGEND

By 1968, the A-12's days were numbered. Reconnaissance satellites were improving fast, running both a secret CIA fleet and the Air Force's new SR-71 was expensive, and the decision was made to keep just one. The A-12 was retired, the SR-71 took over, and it was the Air Force's Blackbird that went on to become a household name. But the plane that started it all, and flew faster than the legend, belonged to the CIA.

It's crazy to think more than 60 years ago the technology that went into this aircraft was just freaking amazing! 😲

This is how they knew that they could fly around the world and how much it would cost when they were thinking about a bicentennial around the world flight. They decided on a speed record instead. But the records that were set were not the true absolute limits of the SR 71 blackbird

On Apr. 26, 1971, pilot Lt. Col. Thomas Estes and RSO Lt. Col. Dewain Vick (he and his family were one of my neighbors at Beale AF flew SR-71 #968 15,000 miles in 10 hours 30 minutes non-stop on a grueling marathon mission to test the endurance of the J58 engines and the Blackbird airframe, but mostly to see how many times they could refuel before the liquid nitrogen gave out. At Blackbird speeds and temperatures, oxygen becomes explosive and can spontaneously ignite in the tanks and fuel lines. In order to prevent this, all 6 fuel tanks are purged with pure nitrogen after being filled.

The Blackbird also carries 260 liters of liquid nitrogen in 3 dewars [for this flight the SR-71 only had 2 – 106 liter liquid nitrogen dewars. The 3rd 50 liter dewar was added in the mid 1980’s]. This nitrogen expands into its gaseous form as it is pumped into the fuel tanks to top them off as fuel is consumed. Without the nitrogen, the empty fuel tanks would cavitate from the increased pressure when returning to lower altitudes to refuel. This process involves pumping nitrogen into the tanks while allowing air to vent out, which removes oxygen from the fuel and makes it chemically inactive. This greatly reduces the risk of explosion in extreme heat and pressure conditions.
Linda Sheffield

Pretty cool video reel on how the SR-71 changed from a Turbojet to a RAMjet once it got to 30,000ft and Mach 3. 

Just once again proving how Kelly Johnson and his Engineering team were so far ahead of their time and others.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/194h93oPXn/

Highly recommend the book Area 51 by Annie Jacobsen. A lot of interesting background on the A-12.

So the Lockheed competition was the Convair KINGFISH. Look that up it’s was pretty cool also.

The Pratt-Whitney J58 guys in Palm Beach had a lot to do with that,  my Dad was a test engineer there and spent about 6 months at Area 51 in the mid 60s

Wow, that is awesome! Is he still alive? Was he able to ever tell you any stories, or did he have to keep his lips sealed?

Don't worry, this will just be between you and me.😜

Sadly he passed in 2010, we really never got to hear any fascinating stories, he made it sound like just work, I do have his slide rule and some SR71 documentation but there is/was a group called the Roadrunners that would have gatherings and lots of stuff was declassified and available 

Skunk Works founder Kelly Johnson gave this particular SR-71, tail number 960, a harsh verdict after its first near-disaster: "the only Blackbird that ever flew that was structurally unsound," the result of a 1968 engine fire at Mach 2.88 that left the wing structure heat-warped. Sixteen years later, in May 1984, the same jet caught fire again, this time during a public air show at Andrews Air Force Base, the right engine's nacelle blowing apart on takeoff and tearing into the wing's leading edge in front of a crowd. The pilot shut down the burning engine and brought both crew safely back to the runway, and by the time it was over, this was the third time #960 had come close to being lost for good, according to the daughter of one of its RSOs. Today the jet everyone nicknamed "the cat with nine lives" sits on permanent outdoor display at Castle Air Force Base, California 

There's been a lot of buzz about the Blackbird and NASA lately. Speculation that they are returning one to flight, or using it as a baseline. Also talk about declassifying something for NASA to use.

An SR-71 Blackbird Has Vanished (Updated)

Jared Isaacman is the best thing to happen to NASA in a long time. Not only is he near genius level intelligence, but he’s also a HUGE aviation nerd.  I hope they do get a Blackbird flying again, if for no other reason that the technology is still relevant 65+ years later. 

Pretty cool video on the DARKSTAR. The Hypersonic aircraft that was in Top Gun Maverick.

That leads into a story about the fabled SR-71 as it sits nearby. 😎

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1SAjv2fEA9/

Wow never knew about this one! 😲

January 25, 1966. 11:20 a.m. Bill Weaver lifted an SR-71 Blackbird off the runway at Edwards Air Force Base. Jim Zwayer sat in the rear cockpit. They refueled from a KC-135, accelerated to Mach 3.2, climbed to 78,000 feet.

An inlet unstart happened. The shock wave that normally holds steady inside the engine inlet escaped. The engine lost air supply. Weaver tried to communicate with Zwayer. G-forces built so fast his words came out as unintelligible garble on the cockpit voice recorder.

The SR-71 disintegrated in mid-air.

Weaver blacked out from G-forces. He never pulled the ejection handle. The aircraft broke apart around him at Mach 3.18 and 78,800 feet. His pressure suit deployed a small stabilizing parachute automatically.

He fell 15 miles unconscious. His faceplate froze from the cold. At 15,000 feet, the main parachute deployed automatically. He drifted down through the New Mexico sky.

He landed safely. He hitched a ride to a hospital. From his hospital bed, he called Edwards Air Force Base collect.

The flight engineer who answered thought Weaver was dead. When Weaver came on the line and said his name, the engineer couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, George," Weaver said. "I thought you might have left."

Jim Zwayer died. He suffered a broken neck during the disintegration and was killed instantly.

Two weeks later, Weaver was back in an SR-71 cockpit. Another test flight. A warning light illuminated: "Pilot Ejected." It was a misadjusted microswitch. The flight engineer worried Bill had ejected.

"Yeah, George," came Bill's voice. "I thought you might have left."

Only human to survive an SR-71 disintegration at Mach 3. His pressure suit kept him alive. ✈️ 💙

Verrrrrrrrry interesting........

New reporting from Aviation Week is indicating that NASA has quietly launched an effort to return SR-71A NASA 844 to flight, the same Blackbird that made the final flight of any SR-71 on October 9, 1999.

The aircraft was removed from its longtime outdoor display at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center earlier this year and moved into a hangar, where it was reportedly inspected.

According to Aviation Week, NASA has also contacted several former SR-71 personnel about helping with the effort. Two former Blackbird test engineers confirmed they had been approached.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has recently said the agency is rebuilding its X-plane portfolio and wants NASA flying higher and faster again. At AirVenture, when asked whether he had the power to bring the SR-71 back, Isaacman replied, “That’s classified.”

NASA has not officially confirmed that the return-to-flight project exists. When asked about 844, the agency said it had no additional information to share regarding the aircraft at this time.

There is also speculation that they are just cleaning up the Blackbird to roll it out next to their "new" testbed, which could be a declassified "SR-72" or something in that family.

https://www.twz.com/air/lessons-learned-from-getting-an-sr-71-in-the-ai…

Cool video on the missing SR-71 😎 

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19KvzHJ7hd/

Really good interview on a former SR-71 Engineer on what it would take to put it back in service.

That would be so awesome but quite a task for an aircraft that's been sitting out in the elements for 27 years! 😲

And he did discuss the JP-7 fuel ⛽️ 

https://www.twz.com/air/former-sr-71-engineer-talks-nasas-blackbird-revival-program

That was a very interesting read! 25% chance of flying again, more rumors of the SR-72, retrofitting engines and electronics. Lots of really cool insider info!

This is a cool story about how they used two 400CI Buick Wildcat engines in the start cart to start the SR71 engines. He talks about how the gearheads love to hear those Wildcat engines rev and occasionally they get carried away and blow them up! 😲 😂

It got so bad that they scoured every dealer and  junkyard in the country and used all of them up to where no more were available. 🤣

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18QhdFSTUG/

Some footage of a Blackbird doing a touch and go! 😲

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Eh6JoQjnS/

So Beale would have an "Open House" every year and since we lived across the river north of rwy33 (you can still make out the oval track we had) we always went. They had a display SR sitting there and I walked up and ran my hand along the nose area. Remember it like yesterday, it wasn't firm and hard but soft and you could press the skin in. I was pretty stunned at how it felt. I figured it was a mock up and left it at that. Anyone feel the "skin" of one? Yes the sonic booms were a regular occurrence as were the BUFF's and U2's (to this day) as Beale was a SAC base at the time and Vietnam was in full go. Thanks to anyone with the skin answer.

Reports published in late September and early October 2026 have brought this story back into the spotlight. Aviation Week reported that NASA had approached former SR-71 personnel to help return a particular aircraft, NASA tail number 844, to flight. The War Zone subsequently interviewed a former NASA propulsion engineer about the project. 

This is more substantial than an old internet rumour: the reporting describes specific efforts to recover the aircraft's flight capability. However, NASA has not publicly confirmed all the details.

The particularly interesting part is the question of the engines.

According to The War Zone's interview with former NASA SR-71 propulsion engineer Tim Conners, the original J58 engines in aircraft 844 may no longer be serviceable after decades without operation. He discussed the possibility of using different engines already under development, potentially as part of an experimental flight-test programme. He did not confirm that new engines had definitely been selected or installed. 

That distinction matters: getting an old Blackbird back into the air would be a major engineering project, but it would not necessarily mean the US military was bringing the SR-71 back as an operational spy plane.

The NASA bird would likely be for RAM/SCRAM-jet and hypersonic research...if I had to guess. 

I could see a program to resurrect the old engines. They are a pretty damn solid design & there are quite a few stashed away...or so it is said. There are people that have alluded to engines being kept operational for research on X43, X51...etc. 

or NASA is resurrecting it so Isaacman gets to fly it.