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Author: Michelle Evans
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Published: 2022-05
Total Pages: 484
ISBN-13: 1496229843
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The story of the X-15, the pioneering research flight program in the fifties and sixties, and its pilots.
Author: Dennis R. Jenkins
Publisher:
Published: 2007
Total Pages: 712
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →1. A new science / 2. A hypersonic research airplane / 3. Conflict and innovation / 4. The million-horsepower engine / 5. High range and dry lakes / 6. Preparations / 7. The flight program / 8. The research program.
Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2017-05-18
Total Pages: 84
ISBN-13: 1472819926
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The revolutionary X-15 remains the fastest manned aircraft ever to fly. Built in the two decades following World War II, it was the most successful of the high-speed X-planes. The only recently broken 'sound barrier' was smashed completely by the X-15, which could hit Mach 6.7 and soar to altitudes above 350,000ft, beyond the edge of space. Several pilots qualified as astronauts by flying above 50 miles altitude in the X-15, including Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon. The three X-15s made 199 flights, testing new technologies and techniques which greatly eased America's entry into manned space travel, and made the Apollo missions and Space Shuttle viable propositions. With historical photographs and stunning digital artwork, this is the story of arguably the greatest of the X-Planes.
Author: John Anderson
Publisher: Zenith Press
Published: 2014-02-15
Total Pages: 145
ISBN-13: 0760344450
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →In X-15, the exciting story of the hypersonic X-15--the first space plane--is beautifully illustrated with NASA photographs and exclusive photography of the X-15 from the National Air and Space Museum.
Author: Richard Tregaskis
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Published: 2004-01-01
Total Pages: 340
ISBN-13: 9780803294561
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Built of titanium and a chrome-nickel alloy known as Inconel X, the X-15 was the fastest plane ever built, streaking through the lower reaches of outer space even before the first space capsules reached orbit. First tested in 1959, the X-15 proved to be a crucial testing ground for the astronauts and hardware in the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and even the Space Shuttle programs. ø The dramatic tale of the golden age of this experimental plane comes vividly to life through the writing of the celebrated reporter Richard Tregaskis, who spent time with the pilots, engineers, and other key personnel involved in the project. We learn of the years of planning and design, devastating onboard explosions, exhilarating triumphs, and, above all, the personal and professional sacrifices that paved the way for the enduring legacy of the blisteringly fast X-15 rocket plane.
Author: Milton O. Thompson
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution
Published: 2013-08-06
Total Pages: 392
ISBN-13: 1588343863
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →In At the Edge of Space, Milton O. Thompson tells the dramatic story of one of the most successful research aircraft ever flown. The first full-length account of the X-15 program, the book profiles the twelve test pilots (Neil Armstrong, Joe Engle, Scott Crossfield, and the author among them) chosen for the program. Thompson has translated a highly technical subject into readable accounts of each pilot's participation, including many heroic and humorous anecdotes and highlighting the pilots' careers after the program ended in 1968.
Author: Christopher J. Petty
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Published: 2020-11
Total Pages: 523
ISBN-13: 1496223535
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →In 1945 some experts still considered the so-called sound barrier an impenetrable wall, while winged rocket planes remained largely relegated to science fiction. But soon a series of unique rocket-powered research aircraft and the dedicated individuals who built, maintained, and flew them began to push the boundaries of flight in aviation's quest to move ever higher, ever faster, toward the unknown. Beyond Blue Skies examines the thirty-year period after World War II during which aviation experienced an unprecedented era of progress that led the United States to the boundaries of outer space. Between 1946 and 1975, an ancient dry lakebed in California's High Desert played host to a series of rocket-powered research aircraft built to investigate the outer reaches of flight. The western Mojave's Rogers Dry Lake became home to Edwards Air Force Base, NASA's Flight Research Center, and an elite cadre of test pilots. Although one of them--Chuck Yeager--would rank among the most famous names in history, most who flew there during those years played their parts away from public view. The risks they routinely accepted were every bit as real as those facing NASA's astronauts, but no magazine stories or free Corvettes awaited them--just long days in a close-knit community in the High Desert. The role of not only the test pilots but the engineers, aerodynamicists, and support staff in making supersonic flight possible has been widely overlooked. Beyond Blue Skies charts the triumphs and tragedies of the rocket-plane era and the unsung efforts of the men and women who made amazing achievements possible.
Author: Michael H. Gorn
Publisher: Springer Nature
Published: 2022-01-01
Total Pages: 183
ISBN-13: 3030863980
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Foreword by Dr. Roger D. Launius, Former NASA Chief Historian For the past 75 years, the U.S. government has invested significant time and money into advanced aerospace research, as evidenced by its many experimental X-plane aircraft and rockets. NASA's X-Planes asks a simple question: What have we gained from it all? To answer this question, the authors provide a comprehensive overview of the X-plane’s long history, from the 1946 X-1 to the modern X-60. The chapters describe not just the technological evolution of these models, but also the wider story of politics, federal budgets, and inter-agency rivalries surrounding them. The book is organized into two sections, with the first covering the operational X-planes that symbolized the Cold War struggle between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R, and the second section surveying post-Cold War aircraft and spacecraft. Featuring dozens of original illustrations of X-plane cross-sections, in-flight profiles, close-ups, and more, this book will educate general readers and specialists alike.
Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2017-05-18
Total Pages: 80
ISBN-13: 1472819934
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The revolutionary X-15 remains the fastest manned aircraft ever to fly. Built in the two decades following World War II, it was the most successful of the high-speed X-planes. The only recently broken 'sound barrier' was smashed completely by the X-15, which could hit Mach 6.7 and soar to altitudes above 350,000ft, beyond the edge of space. Several pilots qualified as astronauts by flying above 50 miles altitude in the X-15, including Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon. The three X-15s made 199 flights, testing new technologies and techniques which greatly eased America's entry into manned space travel, and made the Apollo missions and Space Shuttle viable propositions. With historical photographs and stunning digital artwork, this is the story of arguably the greatest of the X-Planes.
