(1955) The Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1E airplane being loaded under the mothership, Boeing B-29. The X-planes had originally been lowered into a loading pit and the launch aircraft towed over the pit, where the rocket plane was hoisted by belly straps into the bomb bay. By the early 1950s a hydraulic lift had been installed on the ramp at the NACA High-Speed Flight Station to elevate the launch aircraft and then lower it over the rocket plane for mating. Image # : E55-02072

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Size: 2067px × 1614px
Photo credit: © ART Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -1e, -29, afrc, armstrong, bell, boeing, flight, high-speed, naca, nasa, research, station