NASA is reportedly examining SR-71 #844, the last Blackbird to ever fly. What would it take to make it fly again, and what could it cost? A former NASA propulsion engineer who worked on the Blackbird program gives it a 25% chance. After 9/11, the Pentagon asked whether the SR-71 could be brought back. The proposal: about $45 million for startup and the first year, roughly $85 million in today's dollars. It never happened. Now NASA's destroyed spare-parts stockpile, missing ground equipment, questionable engines, and lost trainer could make a return to flight far harder. NASA has not confirmed a return-to-flight program. SOURCES Aviation Week, original report: https://aviationweek.com/defense/airc… The War Zone, interview with a former NASA Blackbird propulsion engineer: https://www.twz.com/air/former-sr-71-…
Source: Is NASA Putting a New Engine in the SR – 71 Blackbird?
