Quantifying the exact level of badass-ness the SR-71 Blackbird achieved during its active career from the 1960s to the 1990s is impossible -- partly because, as a spy plane, much of its anecdotal history remains behind a veil of security. From its very first test flight, three days before Christmas in 1964, it straddled the boundaries between physics-bending speed and safety, top secret missions and public rockstar status, and even between Earth and space.

Now basking in its second decade of retirement, Blackbird stands as a towering figure in the history of aviation, one which still holds more than its share of records. These are 29 things you you (probably) didn’t know about the SR-71.