X-15 aircraft on a Boeing B-52. This, view, from the B-52 carrier aircraft, is at high altitude shortly before the X-15 aircraft was dropped from the

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X-15 aircraft on a Boeing B-52. This, view, from the B-52 carrier aircraft, is at high altitude shortly before the X-15 aircraft was dropped from the B52's wing. The X-15 was a rocket-powered research aircraft designed to investigate flight at hypersonic speeds. Three X-15s flew a total of 199 missions between 1959 and 1968. The X-15 was carried into the air by a converted B-52 bomber and released at high altitude. The pilot then ignited the X-15's rocket motor. It was the first plane to reach the edge of outer space and set records for the fastest manned aircraft (7,274 kilometres per hour, or Mach ). Photographed in 1965.

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Size: 3304px × 2650px
Photo credit: © NASA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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