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.

Three X-15 spaceplanes performed 199 free flights. The flights of the North American X-15, an experimental American spaceplane built by North American Aviation and operated by the United States Air Force and NASA, were conducted from 1959 to 1968.

2023年10月13日 · 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.

2014年2月28日 · The X-15 No. 2 (56-6671) launches away from the B-52 mothership with its rocket engine ignited. Manufactured by North American Aviation Inc., three rocket-powered X-15s flew a total of 199 times, with North American (and former National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA) pilot Scott Crossfield making the first, unpowered glide flight ...

The X-15 was air launched from a B-52 aircraft at 45,000 feet and at a speed of about 500 mph. After dropping from the B-52, the rocket engine provided thrust for the first 80 to 120 seconds of flight.

In its long career, it has launched the three X-15 hypersonic rocket planes, the HL-10, M2-F2/F3, X-24A/B lifting bodies, the space shuttle booster parachute recovery system testbed, a 3/8 scale F-15 remotely piloted research vehicle (RPRV), the High Maneuverability Aircraft Technology (HiMAT) RPRV, the Pegasus satellite launcher, and test...

2017年11月29日 · During this 9 November 1961 flight, the 45th in the X-15 series, U.S. Air Force Major Robert White piloted X-15 No. 2 to a world-record speed of Mach 6.04 (4093 miles per hour). It was the first time a piloted aircraft exceeded Mach 6. Image credit: NASA. The X-15 is a strong contender for the title of "Everyone's Favorite X-plane."

2021年10月8日 · On a bright Thursday in late October 1968, an NB-52 Stratofortress soared over western Nevada at an altitude of 45,000 feet. Tucked beneath its right wing was the X-15—a sleek rocket plane with a heavily reinforced cockpit and a fuselage packed with large fuel tanks and a rocket engine capable of producing 57,000 lb. of thrust.

2002年2月6日 · The X-15 was flown over a period of nearly 10 years--June 1959 to Oct. 1968--and set the world's unofficial speed and altitude records of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7) and 354,200 ft (over 67 mi) in a program to investigate all aspects of piloted hypersonic flight.

2013年4月29日 · The X-15 #2 launches away from the B-52 mothership with its rocket engine ignited.