X-15 aircraft in flight. This is X-15 number 3 (56-6672) in flight over a US desert in the 1960s. This aircraft (which crashed in 1967) made 65 flight

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X-15 aircraft in flight. This is X-15 number 3 (56-6672) in flight over a US desert in the 1960s. This aircraft (which crashed in 1967) made 65 flights during the program, flown by 10 of the 12 X-15 pilots. 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 ).

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Size: 3819px × 2287px
Photo credit: © NASA/USAF/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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