The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft which was 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 · In the joint X-15 hypersonic research program that NASA conducted with the U.S. Air Force, the Navy, and North American Aviation Inc., the aircraft flew during a period of nearly 10 years and set the world’s unofficial speed and altitude records of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7) and 354,200 feet in a program to investigate all aspects of piloted ...

Feb 2, 2025 · The Bell X-2 (46-674) on the ramp at Edwards Air Force Base with the mothership B-50. Photo: U.S. Air Force | Wikimedia Commons. Bell X-2 was the second aircraft designed to investigate the aerodynamic effects to a Mach number …

First flown in 1959, the North American X-15 bridged the gap between human flight in the atmosphere and spaceflight. It was the first winged aircraft to fly Mach 4, 5, & 6 and to operate at altitudes above 30,500 m (100,000 ft). Eight of 12 pilots received astronaut wings.

Aug 14, 2022 · Known as the fastest manned rocket aircraft ever flown, the North American X-15 is an engineering marvel. It made the first manned flights to the edge of outer space and was the first aircraft to reach hypersonic speeds – that’s over five times the speed of sound.

Sep 15, 2009 · The X-15 was suggested in the early 1950s by Bell Aircraft’s Walter Dornberger as a vehicle for exploring the realm of hypersonic flight, which was defined as a speed in excess of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound.

Dec 20, 2024 · Scott Crossfield prepares for a flight in the North American Aviation X-15A. While earlier rocketplanes, the Bell X-1 series, the the Douglas D-558-II, and the Bell X-2, were airplanes powered by rocket engines, the X-15 was a quantum leap in technology. It …

The X-15 and other X-planes are more than a historical legacy for NASA. The program is the core of NASA’s New Aviation Horizons, an array of new experimental aircraft that will carry on the legacy of demonstrating advanced technologies to push back the frontiers of aviation.

Bell engineers logically and correctly chose to design the XS-1 that correctly addressed aerodynamic pressures, stability and control to smoothly transition from the transonic speed range into the unknown region of Mach 1.0 and achieve higher speeds.

Jul 30, 2000 · Starting with the first U.S. purpose-built X-plane, the Bell X-1 in 1946, and culminating in the still-to-be surpassed Mach 6+ X-15, these high-speed aircraft were helped along their paths to...

the X-15 program yielded a treasure trove of valuable data and fresh understanding. perhaps most critically, it provided a major technological stepping-stone to space.

The Air Force contract with North American Aviation included a ground based analog computer flight simulator that included a realistic X-15 cockpit, and the complete X-15 flight control system including all cables, push rods, bell cranks, hydraulics, and control surface masses.

Aug 2, 2022 · X-15 is a hypersonic rocket aircraft designed and built by North American for NACA (later NASA) testing. It set speed records in the 1960s that remain unbroken some 60 years later. it was an unbelievably ambitious project that actually paid off, plus a lot of valuable data was gained and implemented into future aircraft design.

X-15. Beginning in 1944, development of a rocket powered plane began. The first was the Bell X-1 in 1946. This is the plane Charles "Chuck" Yeager piloted to mach 1.06 on 14 October 1947, breaking the sound barrier for the first time. Later planes were developed to fly higher and faster.

The North American X-15 was the pinnacle of rocket-powered research aircraft that defined the 1940s and 1950s, starting with the famous Bell X-1. Each of these important "X-Plane" aircraft received specific program objectives and were further developed with time permitting technology.

The X-15 was an important tool for developing spaceflight in the 1960s, and pilots flying above 50 miles altitude in the X-15 earned astronaut wings. Three X-15s were built, and they made 199 flights between 1959-1968.

Aug 4, 2016 · The North American X-15 was the culmination of the rocket powered research aircraft that peppered the 1940s and 1950s beginning with the famous Bell X-1. Each of these important "x-plane" aircraft were given specific program goals and advanced as the technology of the time allowed.

Sep 14, 2020 · The thumbnail picture of this article is the North American X-15. It may seem rather simple but it is the fastest manned aircraft in history and still is today even after more than 50 years. It gave to NASA many important innovations for its conquest of space and future high-speed flights test.

Sep 16, 2022 · The North American X-15, as was the case for the Bell X-1, which was the first supersonic airplane, was launched by a mother ship. The X-15's boost was courtesy of a Boeing B-52 specially outfitted to carry the X-15 aloft.

Oct 13, 2023 · On Oct. 15, 1958, the first X-15 hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft rolled out of its factory. A joint project among NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Navy, the X-15 greatly expanded our knowledge of flight at speeds exceeding Mach 6 and altitudes above 250,000 feet.