EXPERIMENTAL MODEL TAKES FLIGHT.Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer An SR-71 Blackbird “SR-71” redirects here. For other uses, see SR-71 (disambiguation). The Lockheed SR-71 was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed YF-12A and A-12 aircraft by the Lockheed Skunk Works. carrying a 14,300-pound experiment on its back made a successful first flight Friday in a program to test an engine that will be used for a new spacecraft. The Blackbird carried a one-10th-scale model of the X-33 on its back during the nearly two-hour flight. The flight was intended to see how the Blackbird performed with the model in preparation for future tests in which engines on the model will be test fired. ``As far as first flights go, this is about as good as it comes,'' said Ken Szalai, director of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center The Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC), located inside Edwards Air Force Base, is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. On March 26, 1976 it was named in honor of the late Hugh L. . The engine that will be tested is called a linear aerospike. The aerospike is similar to traditional rocket engines except it lacks the usual bell-shaped nozzle. Instead, the aerospike uses the atmosphere as part of its nozzle, with the surrounding airflow containing the rocket's exhaust plume. This allows the engine to adjust during its ascent to orbit to stay at optimum performance whereas traditional engines cannot compensate for atmospheric changes. The $20 million Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment program will gather information about the X-33 model's airflow with the linear aerospike engine The aerospike engine is a type of rocket engine that maintains its aerodynamic efficiency across a wide range of altitudes through the use of an aerospike nozzle. For this reason the nozzle is sometimes referred to as an altitude-compensating nozzle. and its exhaust plume. The information will also help determine the efficiency of the rocket engine. The fact the flight occurred on Halloween did not go unnoticed. Mission controller Marta Meyer showed up for work dressed as a witch. Later, when the SR-71 was approaching a tanker for an aerial refueling Aerial refueling, also called Air refueling or in-flight refueling (IFR) or air-to-air refueling (AAR) or (in the UK) tanking. Note that AAR also stands for "After Action Review" (de-briefing) and in aviation, IFR also stands for , one of the jet's crew called: ``Trick or treat.'' Friday's mission was flown by NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. research pilot Ed Schneider and flight engineer Bob Meyer Robert Bernard Meyer (born August 4, 1939, in Toledo, Ohio) is a former professional baseball pitcher. The left-hander was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1960. . During the flight, the Blackbird reached a top speed of Mach 1.2. ``It was a very good flight,'' said Dave Lux, NASA's SR-71 project manager. ``We accomplished about everything we wanted to.'' There will be three more flights to examine how the SR-71 handles with the X-33 model before the linear aerospike engine is ignited during flight. Future flights will measure the rocket's performance from subsonic sub·son·ic adj. 1. Of less than audible frequency. 2. Having a speed less than that of sound in a designated medium. subsonic Adjective speeds up to Mach 3, or about 2,200 mph. During the tests, the aerospike engine will only be fired for two to three seconds. |
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