By ANDREW BLANKSTEIN LOS ANGELES TIMES STAFF WRITER

August 01,1999

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE-Thirty-five years ago this December, government officials acknowledged the existence of a top-secret spy plane so technologically advanced, it could fly to the edge of space and cross the continent in an hour flat. The needle-shaped aircraft was powered by massive jet engines that propelled it at 35 miles a minute. Constructed with imported Russian titanium and painted midnight black, it had a sleek, sinister appearance straight out of science fiction. By the time the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was retired by the military in 1989-briefly flying again between 1995 and 1997-it had solidified its place in aviation history for flying faster and higher than any other plane. Now, a generation after the Blackbird first took wing, scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Dryden Flight Research Center are showcasing the plane's unique abilities in an effort to establish a new reputation for it as a high-speed airborne laboratory for private industry. The plane, last flown July 15, is undergoing a four-month, $144,000 test program that, if successful, could keep the plane flying indefinitely. Test project manager Steven G. Schmidt says NASA is hoping to attract private industry-or anyone else-looking to test innovations in a high speed, high stress environment. "By using the unique capabilities of these airplanes, we can develop new technologies," said Schmidt. "That could set the standards for aviation well into the next century." Ten years ago the U.S. Air Force lent three SR-71s to NASA for experiments and research. It is these that are being used in the current tests. In the last decade, the Blackbirds have been used to study sonic booms, wireless satellite communications, an ultraviolet video camera, a laser air data collection system and a new engine for NASA's next-generation launch vehicle. Future missions may include studies of new earth-mapping techniques, propulsion systems that combine the properties of jets and rockets, and a study of the effects of rocket engine exhaust and volcano plumes on the ozone layer, which could lead to breakthroughs in pollution reduction, scientists say. Government policy makers say the current test program reflects a trend toward public-private partnerships in aerospace that's symbolic of something larger: a changing relationship between NASA and industry. A member of the House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) said the trend amounts to role reversal. And it's likely to continue well into the future. "At the beginning, government might seek out private contractors," she said. "Down the line, NASA may be a customer, not an operator."

On a recent July morning, NASA pilot Rogers Smith and flight engineer Marta Bohn-Meyer put a Blackbird through its paces on a nearly two hour flight over a wide loop that took them over the Tehachapi Mountains, Sierra Nevada, Owens Valley, Nevada desert. Flying at about 80,000 feet, the crew members see darkness above and light emanating off a curving Earth below as they knife through the skies at nearly three times the speed of sound. "The amazement is looking down at the gauges and seeing how fast you are going," said Smith. "The only time you can appreciate how fast it is when you look down at an airliner and realize you're almost four times faster than he is." During this particular race along the aerial frontier with space, the Blackbird's performance and flying qualities are closely measured. So are the effects on its unusual cargo, a 4O foot object fastened atop the plane's rounded frame to simulate a payload. Data about how the plane and an attached object are affected by SR-71 flight conditions will be used as a baseline for future experiments, said Schmidt. Still, being used for nonmilitary applications is nothing new for the SR-71, which has been pressed into service for other missions. Boeing Co.'s Rocketdyne Division in Canoga Park has used the Blackbird to test properties of its Aerospike engine, the propulsion system that will be used to power the X-33-a prototype for a new reusable launch vehicle scheduled for 15 flight tests beginning next summer. The use of the SR-71 in the X-33 project, primarily as an airborne wind tunnel, was funded through a NASA appropriation. Scientists also have studied the physics of the Blackbird's sonic booms in hope of quieting them-a breakthrough that could someday bring supersonic or even hypersonic (above 2,200 mph) flights to commercial aviation. And with its ability to move from horizon to horizon in 15 minutes, the SR-71 has doubled as a low earth-orbiting satellite for researchers seeking to set up a network for instant wireless communication. Even critics of NASA spending, such as House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Chairman Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) say the new SR-71 program is a good use of taxpayers' money. "It seems to be more cost-effective to use the SR-71 than building wind tunnels," Rohrabacher said. "It's a very positive development that we are able to use the plane, which represents a major investment for the U.S., for something other than spying." Some of the research involving the SR-71 conceivably could be done in wind tunnels, Schmidt said. But the ability of the Blackbird to conduct tests in lifelike conditions, at altitudes and speeds no other plane could reach, makes it invaluable. "You can put an engine in a wind tunnel and test it at three times the speed of sound. But you can't do it for more than minutes at a time. And you're also restricted by size [of the tunnel] and cost," he said. With the Blackbird, size is no constraint because it's essentially a flying wind tunnel, and tests can be conducted for an hour or two, or whatever flying time is possible. Built during the height of the Cold War, the Blackbird was part of a remarkable string of innovations in aerospace by the late Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson and his famed team of aeronautical geniuses at the Lockheed Skunk Works in Burbank. Designed to withstand the high temperatures of the upper atmosphere, the SR-71 was developed by Johnson and company to replace the U-2 spy plane, which had become vulnerable to Soviet missiles. Special jet fuel for the SR-71 comes by rail from Texas. The plane uses so much fuel-12,000 gallons in a 90-minute flight-that it normally takes off light, to save weight, and is refueled in midair. With the loss of about 220,000 aerospace jobs over the past 10 years, officials in the Antelope Valley say projects like the current SR-71 tests and the X-33 are a welcome sign of a rebound. "We are seeing a lot more commercial interest in projects such as in reusable launch vehicles," said Carrie Rogers, economic development project manager for the city of Palmdale. Six or seven companies involved in those efforts are creating numerous jobs, she added. And as more firms are drawn to new aerospace technologies, the numbers will grow.

In the current project, two more flights are scheduled for the Blackbird-Aug. 16 and the final one in September. Beyond that, NASA officials say keeping the program running will depend on attracting interest from outside parties. Those at Dryden are not ready to ship the Blackbird off to a museum. They say they have received more than half a dozen inquiries about the SR from government agencies, private companies and even academics with research grants. "I always refer to the SR-71 as a magical, mystical airplane, not only with its history but its performance," said Smith after a recent flight. Added Schmidt, "Even though it was developed 35 years ago, this plane is way ahead of its time, even by today's standards."