File A121-R-61-7961SR-71AArticle 2012

61-7961

SR-71A · Article 2012
On displayHutchinson, Kansas

Cosmosphere (Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center)
Hutchinson, Kansas, USA · 38.07, -97.92

No photo on fileNo openly licensed photograph of this airframe is in the archive yet. If you took one or know of one, it can be added with your permission.

Record

61-7961
2012
SR-71A
1,601
13 April 1966
Preserved, on display
Cosmosphere (Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center), Hutchinson, Kansas, USA

Career

  • Assembly began 13 Jan 1965, rolled out 19 Oct 1965
  • Subject of the well-known early-1970s in-flight publicity photos used in most SR-71 press releases (habu.org)

Fate

Last flight 2 February 1977; withdrawn early and cannibalized for spares, later displayed in the Cosmosphere's Grand Lobby.

Sources

  1. SR-71 Online (sr-71.org, read via Wayback Machine snapshot). SR-71A #61-7961 (17961). Archived copy · In the register
  2. Habu.org. Blackbird Photo Archive: 61-7961. Archived copy · In the register
  3. SR-71 Online (sr-71.org, read via Wayback Machine snapshot). Blackbird Flight Hours (data from Peter Merlin, NASA Dryden, as of 21 May 2006). Archived copy · In the register
  4. Cosmosphere. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird's Unforgettable Goodbyes. Open · Archived · In the register
  5. Joe Baugher. 1961 USAF Serial Numbers (61-7950 to 61-7981 entries). Open · Archived · In the register
  6. Roadrunners Internationale. Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird production list (article numbers). Open · Archived · In the register
  7. OpenStreetMap (Nominatim geocode). Map coordinates: Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. Open · In the register