> he took off his mask He didn't take off his mask, he took off his visor (or rather held it out of the way). The flight crew of an SR-71 wear pressure suits

> he took off his mask He didn't take off his mask, he took off his visor (or rather held it out of the way). The flight crew of an SR-71 wear pressure suits very similar to that of astronauts. The helmets they were are also similar in appearance, at least. They've got a "sunglass" visor that slides down over the transparent bubble of the helmet. This is likely what he was "removing". It sounded like the latch that would normally hold it in its stowed position broke, necessitating him holding it out of the way (mentioned several times). You can see a close up of the helmet here [0], full body view [1], side view with the visor up [2]. The crew doesn't wear a mask light you'd see in, say, a fighter jet. The entire suit is pressurized. I'm not even sure a crew member is capable of removing their helmet without assistance. They certainly need help getting the entire suit, gloves and helmet on & sealed. [0] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brian_Shul_in_the_cockpit_of_the_SR-71_Blackbird.jpg#/media/File:Brian_Shul_in_the_cockpit_of_the_SR-71_Blackbird.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brian_Shul_in_the_co... [1] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SR71_crew.jpg#/media/File:SR71_crew.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SR71_crew.jpg#/media... [2] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brian_Shul_in_the_cockpit_of_the_SR-71_Blackbird.jpg#/media/File:Brian_Shul,_self-portrait,_SR-71_Blackbird.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brian_Shul_in_the_co...