The Plane That Accidentally Ended Up in Space

April 15, 1986. US Air Force Major Brian Shul streaks through the stratosphere fifteen miles over Colonel Gaddafi’s Libya in his Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. Flying too high for enemy fighters to reach, too fast for missiles to catch, virtually invisible to radar, not a single one has been shot down in over two decades of operation. But a series of course corrections has temporarily slowed Shul’s Blackbird’s speed. Suddenly, he sees red warning lights flaring across his instrument panel. Somehow, dated Soviet-built Libyan surface-to-air batteries have locked onto the world’s fastest aircraft. The SR-71’s only hope was to hit the gas. Everyone was about to find out if the Blackbird could actually outrun a missile... --- Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between. As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.