Word: fueled
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...that speed, combustion chambers in the SR-71's two huge Pratt & Whitney J58 engines reach a temperature of 2,800°-hotter than any other operational engine. They gulp special kerosene-based "Lockheed Lighter Fuel, 1-A" at a ravenous rate...
...fuel probably gets an extra kick from a high-energy chemical additive, and the mighty engines can drive the SR-71 in a missile-like ballistic curve that takes the plane above 97% of the earth's atmosphere. Yet even in the rarefied upper atmosphere, the surface temperature of the plane's leading edges hits 630°, enough to heat the Blackbird's titanium skin to cherry-red incandescence. An intricate system of pumps and pipelines circulates fuel near enough to the skin to absorb heat and carry it to cooler parts of the plane where...
Coiled Tubing. The new steamer, a brainchild of William Lear, developer of the Lear Jet, supposedly has none of the liabilities of the old. It is powered by an external-combustion motor (which burns fuel outside the cylinders), uses yards of coiled tubing instead of an old-fashioned steam boiler and a special chemical preparation (to prevent freezing) instead of water. The fluid is sealed in, so it can't boil away. It is superheated to vapor by a burner that, according to Lear, "can burn anything from ground camel dung to high-grade gasoline"-although he recommends kerosene...
MINUTEMAN: the basic U.S. land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which accounts for 1,000 of the 1,054 birds now deployed. The Minuteman series, housed in underground silos to protect the missiles against damage in the event of nuclear attack, is propelled by solid fuel and can be fired 32 seconds after the GO order...
...themselves are 34 in. wide, compared with 22 in. for a Boeing 747. Fully loaded, the Concorde will be able to cover about 4,000 miles, and Paris-New York is a 3,700-mile flight. That leaves no leeway for meeting international standards, which call for a 25% fuel-safety margin. Either the Concorde's range will have to be extended or the plane will have to be restricted to lighter loads...