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Lent by Langley Research Center
The SR-71 was developed for the US Air Force by Clarence 'Kelly'
Johnson's (1900-1990) famous Lockheed Skunk Works design bureau. First
flown on December 22, 1964, the plane entered service with the USAF
Strategic Reconnaissance Wing in 1966. Capable of flying at greater
than Mach 3 at altitudes over 85,000 feet, the SR-71 served the US Air
Force in terms of reconnaissance and NASA in terms of flight research.
Neither of these uses the plane today. The last flight of a Blackbird
was in October 1999 with the last aircraft being decommissioned in 2002.
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