From: Chris Thompson <christ@sci.ccny.cuny.edu>
Subject: Aurora article in NY Times (LONG!!!)
Organization: City College of New York - Science Computing Facility
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 18:34:41 GMT


From Chris Thompson <christ@sci.ccny.cuny.edu>


Figured that some folks might be interested in this- sorry about the length! 

I will abbreviate some  things  to  save  my  fingers-  these  will  be  in 
square brackets. All typos are mine, w/apologies to Mr. Browne.

>From _The New York Times_, Tuesday, January 19, 1993
*****Article Begins*****

Rumors of US Superplane Appear Unfounded
Russia seems to be further ahead on ultrafast engine.
By Malcolm W. Browne

     Rumors and reported sightings of a  secret  American  superplane  have 
been proliferating lately almost as abundantly as yarns about [UFO's].  But 
despite the acknowledged yearning of many  American  aviation  experts  and 
buffs for an ultrafast spy plane, it appears that development of  even  the 
engine needed for such a plane is moving faster  in  Russia  than  in  this 
country. The possible  existence  of  a  American  [intel]-gathering  plane 
capable of flying at [Mach 8] has been suggested in recent articles in  the 
British periodical _Jane's Defense Weekly_  [JDW],  the  American  magazine 
Aviation Week & Space  Technology  [AWST]  and  other  respected  technical 
publications. 
     These reports are based partly on sightings  of  large  and  unusually 
shaped airplanes, peculiar looking condensation trails left by  high-flying 
aircraft and strange rumbling sounds near Edwards [AFB], Calif., and  other 
places around the world.

_Secret Project of the 1980's_

     Some  experts  believe  the  purported  sightings  of   a   hypersonic 
(ultra-high speed) [recon] plane are credible in light of  some  mysterious 
[DOD] budget items  in  the  1980's  called  'Aurora'  or  perhaps  'Senior 
Citizen'.
     The theory is that Aurora was intended to produce a new spy  plane  to 
succeed the Lockheed SR-71 'Blackbird', which was retired in 1990.   During 
the [1/4]-century the SR-71 served America's [intel] agencies, it routinely 
flew at speeds up to 2600  [mph]  above  100,000  feet,  and  none  of  the 
countries it scouted ever succeeded in shooting it down,  despite  hundreds 
of attempts.
     The Air Force, which operated the SR-71,  the  U-2  spy  plane  (which 
gained notoriety in 1960 when one was shot down over [Russia]) and  [recon] 
satellites on behalf of the [CIA], emphatically denies the existence  of  a 
super spy plane. Donald B. Rice, Secretary of  the  Air  Force,  said  last 
month that reports of such an aircraft are 'fantasy'.
     An [AF] spokesman said : 'We have looked into all such  sightings,  as 
we have for UFO reports, and we cannot explain them.  No  [AF]  [a/c]  were 
operating at the times and places of the alleged sightings.'
     William Sweetman, author of the report published in  [Dec]  by  [JDW], 
still believes in the existence of some  kind  of  secret,  high-speed  spy 
plane.
     'Many of these sightings  were  from  highly  qualified  and  credible 
observers', he said, 'and even if the [AF] is not  directly  involved,  the 
plane might be operated by some other organization, such  as  the  National 
Reconnaissance Office [NRO]'.  That office  has  coordinated  [intel]  from 
satellites and [a/c] for decades, but its very existence was denied by  the 
Government until recently.
     Another writer  on  secret  [intel]-gathering  [a/c]  and  satellites, 
William E. Burrows, author of _Deep Black_, also believes  Aurora  (or  its 
equivalent under another name) may exist.  'If you  put  all  the  evidence 
together', he said, 'you have to conclude  that  some  kind  of  high-speed 
plane is flying. But it might not be a dedicated [recon]  plane.  It  might 
also operate as a bomber or in some other high-speed mission.'
     But a lengthy review of the evidence by  the  Federation  of  American 
Scientists [FAS] in [Sept] concluded that although the Government has often 
falsely denied the existence of [intel]-gathering projects,  and  therefore 
deserves to be doubted, it looks in this case as if Aurora may  be  nothing 
more than wishful thinking.
     Dr. John E. Pike, who analyzed the Aurora case  for  the  federation's 
newsletter, wrote that 'an understanding of the mystery [a/c] phenomena  is 
impossible outside the context of the UFO phenomena.
     'Belief in the existence of  marvelously  capable  and  highly  secret 
[a/c] resonates with some of the deeper anxieties of contemporary  American 
society', he wrote. 'Aviation has  long  been  one  of  the  distinguishing 
attributes of American greatness.'
     But he added:  'The  declining  fortunes  of  the  American  aerospace 
industry have created growing uncertainties about the future.  It would  be 
comforting to believe that the decline of America  and  American  aerospace 
was more apparent than real'.
     Such sentiments were echoed in a speech Dec. 9 by  Daniel  S.  Goldin, 
the Administrator of [NASA], who  declared,  'America's  historic  lead  in 
aeronautics is in a nose dive'.

_Franco-Russian Test_

     Russia and its French aerospace partners,  meanwhile,  have  announced 
the successful test-firing of a 'scramjet' [s/j] engine, which operates  at 
speeds starting at [mach 5] and is capable of lifting  an  airplane  toward 
orbit outside the atmosphere.
     The Franco-Russian test, as reported by [AWST], was carried  out  Nov. 
17 in Kazahkhstan.  [Reps] of the French aerospace company Onera, a partner 
in the project, said the [s/j] successfully  operated  for  15  seconds  at 
[mach 5.5] in a test using  a  modified  Russian  [SAM].  The  French  said 
progress with the [s/j] meant that development of a test  [a/c]  using  the 
jet could begin in 1995.
     A [s/j] differs from an ordinary  jet  engine  in  that  it  can  only 
operate at a very high speed. Air  entering  a  [s/j]  at  high  supersonic 
speed compresses itself in the engine's  reaction  chamber,  where  hydrogen 
fuel is injected, mixed with  air  and  ignited,  producing  a  rocket-like 
thrust.  An [a/c] using such an engine would require a  conventional  power 
plant to take off and reach  supersonic  speed  before  firing  its  [s/j].  
Operating at [mach 8], such an [a/c] could serve as a [recon] spy plane,  a 
penetration  bomber,  or  even  or  even  an  ultra-high  speed  commercial 
airliner. It could also fly to the top of the earth;s atmosphere  and  then 
fire rockets lofting it in the final stage into orbital flight.

_Place for Space Plane_

     Two American companies, Rockwell International's Rocketdyne  [RD]  and 
United Technology's Pratt & Whitney [P&W] are trying to develop [s/j's], or 
some other possible powerplants, for the projected National Air  and  Space 
Plane, a NASA project.  But neither project officials  nor  [a/c]  industry 
experts profess to know anything about the mystery high-speed spy plane. 
     Vincent Rausch, director of the project, said that the development  of 
power plants for a hypersonic air and space plane  was  still  one  of  the 
major stumbling blocks, and that development  of  a  flying  prototype  was 
nowhere in sight.
     'We don't know anything about it here,' Paul Sewell, a  spokesman  for 
[RD], said of a mystery spy plane, 'but it would sure be great if there was 
something like that flying'.

                *****Article Ends*****



All followups to the NY Times, please!!!!!

Chris

-- 
(Help!  I've fallen and I can't reach my beer!)

Newsgroups: sci.military