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SR-71 Over Snow Capped Mountains

NASA's SR-71B, NASA 831, slices across the snowy southern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California after being refueled by an Air Force Flight Test Center tanker during a recent flight. The Mach 3 aircraft were being flown by the Dryden Flight Research Center (now the Armstrong Flight Research Center), Edwards, California as testbeds for high-speed, high-altitude aeronautical research. Capable of flying more than 2200 mph and at altitudes of over 85,000 feet, they were excellent platforms for research and experiments in aerodynamics, propulsion, structures, thermal protection materials, atmospheric studies, and sonic boom characterization. Derived from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12, the SR-71 first flew on December 22, 1964.

 

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Credit: NASA

Image Number: EC95-42883-4

Date: December 1994

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Uploaded on December 22, 2024
Taken in December 1994