X-15 launch from a Boeing B-52. This is X-15A-2, launching in 1967, with the ablative coating and external tanks that helped set several speed records
X-15 launch from a Boeing B-52. This is X-15A-2, launching in 1967, with the ablative coating and external tanks that helped set several speed records. Under the lower fin is a dummy ramjet engine. 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 ).
Size: 3343px × 2630px
Photo credit: © NASA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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