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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 · Although the number two aircraft was later modified, the basic X-15 was a single-seat, mid-wing monoplane designed to explore the areas of high aerodynamic heating rates, stability and control, physiological phenomena, and other problems relating to hypersonic flight (above Mach 5).
Mar 18, 2014 · In just a few years, the first airplane capable of cruising at Mach 2, the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, entered service. Designed by the famous Lockheed Skunk Works under the direction of iconic designer Kelly Johnson, this airplane was a beautiful example of excellent supersonic aerodynamics.
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 · All took the X-15 to speeds and altitudes that extended the frontiers of flight. 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.
This aircraft is the second of the three X-15s. North American modified it for even greater speed, adding the large orange and white propellant tanks and lengthening the fuselage about 18 inches. This was the fastest X-15, reaching Mach 6.7 in October 1967. It was delivered to the museum in 1969.
The X-15 was a high-altitude hypersonic research vehicle, operated by NASA from 1959 to 1968, used to support development of new technologies including propulsion, instrumentation, structures, thermal protection systems, and flight controls.
