On this date in 1963, an X15 aircraft piloted by Joe Walker climbed to the record altitude of 66 miles. The North American Aviation X-15 rocket-powered research aircraft (3 were built), bridged the gap between manned flight within the atmosphere and manned flight beyond the atmosphere into space. After its initial test flights in 1959, the X-15 became the first winged aircraft to reach velocities of Mach 4, 5, and 6. Because of its high-speed capability, the X-15 had to be designed to withstand aerodynamic temperatures of 1,200 degrees F.; the aircraft was fabricated using a special nickel-chrome alloy named Inconel X. The X-15 led research in a variety of areas: hypersonic aerodynamics, winged re-entry from space, life-support systems for spacecraft, aerodynamic heating and heat transfer research, and earth sciences experiments. A total of 700 technical documents were produced, equivalent to the output of a typical 4,000-man federal research center for more than two years. The aircraft made many noteworthy flights until it crashed during atmospheric re-entry, following pilot disorientation and a control-system failure. The pilot, Capt. Michael Adams, was killed. Eight of the twelve pilots in the X15 program received astronaut wings, because they flew higher than 50 miles above the earth. Neil Armstrong (pictured below) was NOT one of them. His wings were awarded later when he served on the Gemini space program. Vid has no narration.
from Liveleak.com Rss Feed - Recent threads https://ift.tt/2ZkrVBw
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment