X-15 Research Results - NASA - America's Space Plane

The North American X-15 was a hypersonic rocket powered aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and NASA as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft.

The X-15 set speed and altitude records in the 1960s, reaching the edge of outer space and achieving the highest speed ever recorded by a manned, powered aircraft, in October 1967 when William J. "Pete" Knight flew Mach 6.72 at 102,100 feet (31,120 m), a speed of 4,520 miles per hour (7,274 km/h), has remained unchallenged as of July 2017.

This well written expose delves into what was learned from the X-15 project, lessons essential to Man's escape from our earthy cradle. 

135 pages. of incredible detail,  amazing photographs and expanded diagrams. 

A must-have for everyone from space flight enthusiasts and aeronautical engineers!

A NASA original publication in PDF format with information available only from the source.

Photos courtesy of NASA.