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NASA has offered jobs to former SR-71A test engineers, including Mike Relja and Tim Conners, to help return the last Blackbird to fly, Tail No. 844, to the air after nearly 27 years, Aviation Week reports. The aircraft was quietly removed from its display pole at Armstrong Flight Research Center before April and moved into a former Space Shuttle hangar. NASA has not confirmed the project exists.
NASA has approached several former SR-71A test engineers with job offers to support a secret effort to return a retired Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird to flight after nearly 27 years on the ground, Aviation Week reported. The agency quietly removed Tail No. 844 — the last Blackbird ever to fly — from its display pole at the Armstrong Flight Research Center in California before April, according to the report, and moved it into the hangar that once housed the Space Shuttle.
Mike Relja, a retired U.S. Air Force and NASA test engineer on the SR-71A program in his late 70s, said he received an unexpected offer in August from David Ash, a former U.S. Navy and Joby test pilot hired in June as a special projects director at NASA. Two former test engineers — Relja and Tim Conners — confirmed that jobs were offered for the return-to-flight project, according to Aviation Week.
Commercial satellite imagery obtained by Aviation Week indicates the aircraft was removed from its display position near Lilly and Walker Avenues at Edwards Air Force Base sometime before May 17, possibly before April. Tail No. 844 had stood on the pole since about October 9, 1999, the date of the final flight of any Blackbird. Relja said NASA employees rolled the aircraft into the former shuttle hangar, where an inspection followed and crews were already working on it by August.
“I do know they’ve got people working on it,” Relja told Aviation Week. “But again, without equipment, it’s beyond me what they’re doing.” A NASA spokesperson declined to elaborate and said the agency has no additional information to share; NASA has not confirmed the return-to-flight project exists.
Reviving a Mach 3 Icon
If carried out, the restart would return to flight the Mach 3-capable SR-71A, an aircraft type that has not flown since 1999, and would mark a striking reversal for a fleet long considered permanently grounded. The effort also signals the ambitions of NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who said at the All-In Summit in Los Angeles on September 12–14 that the agency is rebuilding its X-plane fleet in pursuit of aeronautical breakthroughs rather than incremental gains.
The project’s scale is considerable. The effort must restore a 59-year-old airframe with no trained crews, no spare parts supply chain, and none of the bespoke ground equipment the Blackbird program once used, former engineers said.
From Display Pole to Shuttle Hangar
Tail No. 844 flew the final Blackbird mission in October 1999 and was then mounted on a display pole at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, where it remained for more than a quarter century. The first public hint of a possible Blackbird-related project came when Isaacman displayed an image of a new X-plane bearing the SR-71A’s distinctive inward-canted tails and blended cockpit at the All-In Summit, prompting speculation about a modern Blackbird-derived X-plane.
In 2007, the Air Force and NASA destroyed a $600 million supply of spare parts for the Blackbird fleet, a decision made after a return to operational service seemed unlikely. That destruction now poses a major cost and logistics obstacle to any restart.
“When we were operational, if we had a spare engine, every 90 days we had to rotate the engine. Every 180 days, we had to run it to keep it as a ready spare. Now you’re talking about engines that have been sitting for 30-plus years.”
— Mike Relja
What NASA Has Not Confirmed
NASA has not confirmed that a return-to-flight project exists, and an agency spokesperson declined to explain why Tail No. 844 was removed from display. Ash reportedly brushed aside questions from prospective rehires about why NASA wants to return the aircraft to flight. It is unclear whether Relja or Conners accepted the offers, how the project would be funded, or whether the aircraft is being restored as a flyer, a ground-test article, or a basis for a new X-plane design.
Technical feasibility also remains unproven. Relja said the aircraft’s cavities are likely filled with water and sand after decades outdoors, that specialized ground equipment no longer exists, and that NASA would need to restore access to the Blackbird’s unique JP-7 fuel, triethylborane ignition chemical, oils and hydraulic fluids. Ash reportedly assured him these would not be a problem, without providing details.
Watch for a Blackbird Reveal
Further details may emerge through Isaacman’s promised rollout of new X-plane announcements, which could clarify whether the restored Blackbird is intended as a research aircraft in its own right or as a pathfinder for a modern successor. Satellite imagery and activity at the Armstrong hangar are likely to be monitored for signs of engine runs or taxi tests. Any actual flight would first require requalification of the airframe, engines and a supply chain that former engineers describe as nonexistent — a process with no announced timeline.
Key Questions
Is NASA officially restarting the SR-71 program?
No. NASA has not confirmed the project. Aviation Week reported, based on former employees, that the agency offered jobs for a secret return-to-flight effort on one aircraft, Tail No. 844.
Which SR-71 is involved?
Tail No. 844, the last Blackbird to fly, which completed the type’s final flight on about October 9, 1999 and had been displayed on a pole at Armstrong Flight Research Center since then.
Why is returning it to flight so difficult?
The 59-year-old airframe has not flown in nearly 27 years, spare parts worth $600 million were destroyed in 2007, specialized ground equipment no longer exists, and the aircraft requires unique JP-7 fuel and triethylborane ignition chemical, former engineers said.
Who is leading the effort at NASA?
David Ash, a former U.S. Navy and Joby test pilot hired in June as a NASA special projects director, extended the job offers, according to Aviation Week.
Is this connected to NASA’s new X-plane plans?
That is unclear. Administrator Jared Isaacman has said NASA is rebuilding its X-plane fleet and showed an image of an X-plane with SR-71-like features, but NASA has not linked that effort to Tail No. 844.
Source: hn
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