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The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft.
Feb 28, 2014 · The X-15 was a follow-on research aircraft to the early X-planes, which had explored the flight regime from just below the speed of sound (Mach 1) to Mach 3.2. In 1952 the NACA had begun preliminary research into space flight and associated problems.
Mar 18, 2014 · X-15: The World's Fastest Rocket Plane and the Pilots who Ushered in the Space Age, by John Anderson and Richard Passman. This first flight was the beginning of one of the most spectacular test programs of one of the most spectacular airplanes in history.
Jul 23, 2019 · The X-15 was a joint research program sponsored by the NACA, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, and private industry. It was designed to explore the upper limits of supersonic flight above Mach 2 and hypersonic flight beyond Mach 5.
Sep 15, 2009 · The X-15 was a research scientist’s dream. The experimental, rocket-boosted aircraft flew 199 flights with 12 different pilots at the controls from 1959 through 1968.
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Composed of an internal structure of titanium and a skin surface of a chrome-nickel alloy known as Inconel X, the X-15 had its first, unpowered glide flight on June 8, 1959, while the first powered flight took place on September 17, 1959.
The X-15 and other X-planes are more than a historical legacy for NASA. The program is the core of NASA’s an array of new experimental aircraft that will carry on the legacy of demonstrating advanced technologies to push back the frontiers of aviation.
Mar 25, 2014 · The X-15 is the fastest and highest-flying manned aircraft. Decades after its record-breaking flights, it’s inspiring a new generation of space planes.
Jul 28, 2020 · Bold, black and blazing fast: The North American X-15 was a plane unlike any other. And although it first flew over 60 years ago, it is still the quickest manned aircraft ever to fly. Shaped...
