Ftrooppilot

NASA (?) rarely if ever uses the four engine configuration (two J-60s under the wings).

That tells me they are more interested in endurance then altitude. I also believe the "package" is HEAVY.

Rumors abound about more powerful engines on the bird taken out of the boneyard and being overhauled in Colorado. Higher altitudes will mean greater line of sight relay capabilities. My guess it will be glass cockpit (similar to the new U-2 cockpit) with a dedicated mission package rather then the removable pallet.

They must be getting close to a test flight which will mean more crews are needed. Wish I weren't "older then dirt."

PS. For those unfamiliar with the "F", the black scoop under the fuselage is for air sampling (Compressed into a container) in "mushroom clouds" once they reach the tropopause. - a mission shared in days gone by both U-2s and RB-57Fs. In the 1960s we could not say the word AFTAC; here's their website in 2012. http://www.afisr.af.mil/library/fact...t.asp?id=10309