Comments on: CAN WE CRASH THE DEADLY FLAME BARRIER?

By: Charles

Charles — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:49:30 +0000

Ironicaly the main source of titanium to build spy planes such as SR-71 ( Blackbird ) was
the USSR.

By: jayessell

jayessell — Mon, 19 May 2008 00:23:55 +0000

I was going to comment that the problem of time travel wasn’t being addressed.

Dang!
I confused the movies “Beyond the Time Barrier” (1960)
(Test pilot travels into the future)
and
“The Flame Barrier” (1958)
(Satellite returns with deadly alien organism)

By: JMyint

JMyint — Sun, 18 May 2008 17:27:53 +0000

Well the article does mention titanium as a possible solution and it was the titanium manufacturing processes developed by Lockheed that enable the construction of the YF-12A and the subsequent SR-71. There were other design features such as thermal expansion slots and the use of JP-7 fuel that made the plane possible. Still the SR-71 never reached the 3,000 mph the author was talking about.

By: Firebrand38

Firebrand38 — Sun, 18 May 2008 03:13:36 +0000

I love how they illustrate this with a drawing of the X-3 which had enough trouble exceeding the speed of sound much less bump up against the thermal barrier

http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Galle.....index.html

Despite the grave predictions of the author, only 5 years after this article was published Kelly Johnson of Lockheed had received approval from the CIA for his design of the OXCART Mach 3 reconnaissance plane (the design modified into the Air Force SR-71). http://www.blackbirds.net/sr71/oxcart/oxcart.html