![]() ![]() Two SR- 71 aircraft have been used by NASA as test beds for high-speed and high-altitude aeronautical research. ![]() The science portion of the flight is a project of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. Mounted in the nose of the SR- 71 was an ultraviolet video camera aimed skyward to capture images of stars, asteroids and comets. ![]() NASA's SR- 71 streaks into the twilight on a night/science flight from the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. Guidelines for designing SR- 71 test bed experiments are also provided. Information is presented based on flight data that describes the SR- 71 test bed aerodynamics, stability and control, structural and thermal loads, the canoe internal environment, and reflection plane flow quality. A brief description of the SR- 71 aircraft is given, including details of the structural modifications to the fuselage, modifications to the J58 engines to provide increased thrust, and the addition of a research instrumentation system. Total experiment weights, including the canoe and reflection plane, as heavy as 14,500 lb can be mounted on the aircraft and flight- tested to speeds as fast as Mach 3.2 and altitudes as high as 80,000 ft. This test bed hardware is composed of a fairing structure called the "canoe" and a large "reflection plane" flat plate for mounting experiments. The test bed hardware mounted on the SR- 71 upper fuselage is described. ![]() The SR- 71 test bed aircraft is shown to be a unique platform to flight- test large experiments to supersonic Mach numbers. The SR- 71 Test Bed Aircraft: A Facility for High-Speed Flight ResearchĬorda, Stephen Moes, Timothy R. ![]()
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