KerbalX

Description

The D-21 was a supersonic reconnaissance drone developed by Skunk Works to provide a less risky alternative to the A-12 or U-2. It was designed to be air launched from a modified A-12 (called the M-21) at speed, or launched from a B-52, with a rocket booster to get it up to speed. Once it took photographs, the information was ejected from the drone in a specified area and the drone self-destructed. The program as a whole was a failure, and because of its low success rate, as well as the development of spy satellites, it was soon rendered obsolete. The main difficulty with this project was the leading edge of the wings, which was quite difficult to shape properly. I’ve still not managed to get it perfect, but it is all right. In the hanger you’ll find that there are a bunch of antennas which are deployed. These are purely for aesthetic purposes, and will be destroyed when you start to fly.

A stock aircraft called D-21. Built with 52 of the finest parts, its root part is fairingSize1.

Built in the SPH in KSP version 1.12.5.

(For those who watch Matt Lowne, he did a very similar build in KSP2 based on this, although he mislabeled the M-21 as a SR-71, which are very similar, and it doesn’t help that a D-21/M-21 photo is on the SR-71’s wiki page)
Air launching from an SR-71!

Details

• Type: SPH
• Class: ship
• Part Count: 52
• Pure Stock
• KSP: 1.12.5

If you’re wondering, I’ve used cheats in these photos to get it into the air