An SR-71 Blackbird in service with NASA during a testing flight in September 1992. This aircraft, recognizable by its tail number 844, has been retired since 1999 and was put on display in southern California, but was removed from its display in May and has not been seen since. (NASA)

Is NASA Putting an SR-71 Blackbird Back into Service?

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Months after NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman expressed love for the SR-71 and a desire to return it to service, one of the retired aircraft has mysteriously vanished from public display.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman recently teased plans to rebuild NASA’s X-plane portfolio. A presentation that Isaacman made at the “All-In Summit” in mid-September included the silhouette of an aircraft bearing a striking resemblance to an SR-71 Blackbird. At the time, the administration promised that NASA would soon fly “as high and as fast as we had in decades past, and then even more.”

The statement was notable, even in isolation. But then aviation observers noticed something that made the statement seem all the more important: NASA’s own SR-71 had disappeared from its longtime outdoor display at Armstrong Flight Research Center. Where could it have gone?

What Did NASA Do with the Missing SR-71 Blackbird?

The aircraft in question is NASA tail number 844, formerly USAF serial........

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