정찰기 SR-71에 탑재된 INS 보조용 천측항법장비 R2-D2

[위종민]

블랙버드는 INS 보조용으로 천측 항법장비인 NAS-14V2 ANS (  Astroinertial Navigation System )을 장비했다고 합니다. 이 시스템은 장치 상단의 렌즈를 통해 보이는 별의 위치를 이용해 항법 수정값을 계산했다고 하고 정확도는 최소 90m(300ft)였다고 하네요. 

전신인 A-12는 단좌였는데 반해, 복좌인 SR-71의 전방 조종사는 조종 및 자동시스템 작동 모니터링, 후방석의 RSO( Reconnaissance Systems Officer )는 카메라, 센서, 그리고 ANS와 ECM 장비 운용을 맡았다고 하네요. 최대 10시간 동안 비행하면서 정찰기가 비행경로 중심에서 300ft 이내, 그리고 특정 위치에서 1,885ft 안에 위치해야 했다고 합니다. ANS는 그 경로상의 별을 최소 2개 가량 추적해 위치를 계산했고, 그 경로와 비행계획, 센서 on-off 계획 등도 펀치카드(!)로 프로그래밍돼 입력됐다고. 

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/the-sr-71-blackbird-astro-nav-system-aka-r2-d2-worked-by-tracking-the-stars-and-was-so-powerful-that-it-could-see-the-stars-even-in-daylight/

The SR-71 Blackbird Astro-Nav System (aka R2-D2) worked by tracking the stars and was so powerful that it could see the stars ev

• Cold War Era
• Military Aviation
• SR-71 Blackbird

The SR-71 Blackbird Astro-Nav System (aka R2-D2) worked by tracking the stars and was so powerful that it could see the stars even in daylight

By Linda Sheffield Miller

Sep 24 2023

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Mounted behind the SR-71 Blackbird RSO’s cockpit, this unit, (that was affectionately dubbed “R2-D2” after the Star Wars movie came out in 1977) computed navigational fixes using stars sighted through the lens in the top of the unit.

CLICK HERE to see The Aviation Geek Club contributor Linda Sheffield’s T-shirt designs! Linda has a personal relationship with the SR-71 because her father Butch Sheffield flew the Blackbird from test flight in 1965 until 1973. Butch’s Granddaughter’s Lisa Burroughs and Susan Miller are graphic designers. They designed most of the merchandise that is for sale on Threadless. A percentage of the profits go to Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base. This nonprofit charity is personal to the Sheffield family because they are raising money to house SR-71, #955. This was the first Blackbird that Butch Sheffield flew on Oct. 4, 1965.

The SR-71, unofficially known as the “Blackbird,” was a long-range, Mach 3+, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft.

The first flight of an SR-71 took place on Dec. 22, 1964, and the first SR-71 to enter service was delivered to the 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., in January 1966.

The Blackbird was in a different category from anything that had come before. “Everything had to be invented. Everything,” Skunk Works legendary aircraft designer Kelly Johnson recalled in an interesting article appeared on Lockheed Martin website.

Experience gained from the A-12 program convinced the US Air Force that flying the SR-71 safely required two crew members, a pilot and a Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO). The RSO operated with the wide array of monitoring and defensive systems installed on the airplane. This equipment included a sophisticated Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) system that could jam most acquisition and targeting radar and the Nortronics NAS-14V2 Astroinertial Navigation System (ANS).

SR-71 Astroinertial Navigation System

According to the Smithsonian Institution website, the ANS provided rapid celestial navigation fixes for the SR-71.

Mounted behind the SR-71 RSO’s cockpit, this unit (that was affectionately dubbed “R2-D2” after the Star Wars movie came out in 1977), computed navigational fixes using stars sighted through the lens in the top of the unit. These fixes were used to update the inertial navigation system and provided course guidance with an accuracy of at least 90 meters (300 feet). Some current aircraft and missile systems use improved versions as a backup to GPS.

About the ANS RSOs were known to say, “no one can jam or shoot down the sun, the moon, the planets or the stars.”

Piloting the Blackbird was an unforgiving endeavor, demanding total concentration. But pilots were giddy with their complex, adrenaline-fueled responsibilities. “At 85,000 feet and Mach 3, it was almost a religious experience,” said Air Force Colonel Jim Watkins. “Nothing had prepared me to fly that fast… My God, even now, I get goose bumps remembering.”

But once the SR-71 reached cruising speed and altitude, it was time to focus on the mission, which was to collect information about hostile and potentially hostile nations using cameras and sensors. The pilot’s job was to handle the aircraft and watch over the automatic systems to make sure they were doing their jobs properly. Meanwhile, the RSO handled the cameras, sensors, and the all-important ANS. The ANS was the 1960’s version of GPS, but instead of using satellites to locate itself, the ANS used the stars. This is because before the invention of the modern satnav networks there wasn’t a way to navigate the SR-71 in the areas where it operated. The SR-71 needed to be able to fix its position within 1,885 feet (575 m) and within 300 ft (91 m) of the center of its flight path while traveling at high speeds for up to ten hours in the air.

The ANS provided specific pinpoint targets located in hostile territory. It was a Gyro compass that was able to sense the rotation of the earth, while still on the runway before the SR-71 would take off. The RSO could use his coordinates of the spot ….of one place …on the runway …then read of the ANS. They were almost always exactly the same. Not always were the same stars were used on every mission, as they used the stars depending on what part of the world they were going to fly to. If flying in the southern hemisphere* they used only the stars that were seen there.

This print is available in multiple sizes from AircraftProfilePrints.com – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS. SR-71A Blackbird 61-7972 “Skunkworks”

On Jul. 2, 1967 Blackbird crew Jim Watkins and Dave Dempster flew the first international sortie in SR-71A #17972 when the ANS failed on a training mission and they accidentally flew in to Mexican airspace.

The ANS works by tracking at least two stars at a time listed in an onboard catalog, and with the aid of a chronometer, calculates a fix of the SR-71 over the ground. It was programmed before each flight and the aircraft’s primary alignment and the flight plan was recorded on a punched tape that told the aircraft where to go, when to turn, and when to turn the sensors on and off. The stars were sighted through a special quartz window (located behind the RSO cockpit) and there was a special star tracker that could see the stars even in daylight.

*It is not confirmed if the SR-71 ever flew in the southern hemisphere.

Be sure to check out Linda Sheffield Miller, Col Richard (Butch) Sheffield’s daughter, Col. Sheffield was an SR-71 Reconnaissance Systems Officer) Facebook Page Habubrats for awesome Blackbird’s photos and stories.

Photo credit: Lockheed Martin, U.S. Air Force, Star Wars/Kristen DelValle and Daderot Own Work via Wikipedia

This model is available in multiple sizes from AirModels – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS.

[백선호]

스타워즈의 R2-D2를 약간 닮았네요. ㅎㅎ

[위종민]

엑스윙 파일럿 코스프레하는 조종사들이 분명 있었을 듯 합니다 ㅋㅋ