In 1957, the Soviet Union developed long-range missiles capable of reaching American cities. In a world already nearing possible nuclear war, the United States took this new threat very seriously. President Eisenhower thus demanded that a state-of-the-art spy plane be built to gather intelligence on the Soviet Union. National Geographic Channel's (NGC) Planes That Changed the World retells America's efforts to build the world's fastest spy plane, the SR-71 Blackbird. To build an aircraft that was fast and could also avoid enemy detection was a task easier said than done. The SR-71 Blackbird's unique shape was designed to make the aircraft invisible on radar. Due to its shape, the Blackbird could reach speeds of more than 3,000 kilometers an hour. By 1965, the SR-71 Blackbird was ready to be put to the test. The initial test flights went well until the plane broke apart in the air on January 25, 1965. At more than 24,000 meters in the sky, the two pilots were free-falling from the edge of space. Through some sort of miracle, head pilot Bill Weaver survived, though his co-pilot did not. In the years to come, engineers would improve upon the Blackbird to keep the US' military strong. To find out more about this plane and many others that changed the world, tune in to NGC this month.
