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Should you wish to contact the
society or require general information please contact ASTRA
using the following Email address: Should you encounter any problems
with this Web
Page please
email: First Flight: June
8, 1959 Mission: High speed research
aircraft used to provide information on thermal heating,
high speed control and stability, and atmospheric
re-entry. Major Accomplishments: Holds
both speed (Mach 6.72) and altitude 67.08 miles) records for
winged aircraft. Power Source: One (1) Reaction
Motors (Thiokol) XLR99-RM-2 throtteable liquid fuel (liquid
hydrogen, liquid oxygen) rocket. 57,000 lb. (25,855 kg)
thrust. (First flights were made with two (2) Reaction
Motors LR11-RM-5 engines at 8,000 lb. (3,630 kg) thrust
each.) Wing Span: 22 ft (6.7
m) Length: 52 ft, 5 in (15.98
m) Weight: Approx. 14,000 lbs
(dry); 34,000 lbs (fuelled) Maximum Achieved Speed: 4,534
mph (Mach 6.72) Maximum Achieved Altitude:
354,200 ft. (67.08 miles) Additional Information:
The X-15 was made primarily from titanium and
stainless steel. The airframe was covered with Inconel X
nickel, an alley which could withstand temperatures up to
1,200 degrees F. Because the X-15 was often subjected to
temperatures higher than 1,200 degrees, the plane was often
covered with a pink ablative material (MA-25S) which could
"boil" away, carrying the heat with it (this material was
covered with a white material that protected the MA-25S
while the X-15 was in transit). The rear tail was movable, and was
pivoted for control at altitudes where the air was
sufficient to control the craft. The tail also contained
air-brake surfaces. At higher (non-atmospheric) altitudes,
control was provided by 12 hydrogen peroxide jets, 4 in the
wingtips and 8 in the nose. All flights were conducted from
Edwards Air Force base. The X-15 was dropped from a B-52
bomber "mother plane" at an altitude of 45,000 feet, and a
speed of 500 mph. The plane was then piloted following a
predetermined flight path, and landed on Rogers dry lake
bed. The plane was incapable of
conventional (runway) take-off due, in part, to its unique
landing gear. Just before landing, the lower half of the
bottom tail section was jettisoned, and two landing skids
were deployed. The nose contained conventional two wheel
landing gear. 3 X-15's were built. The second was
involved in a landing crash in November, 1962 and was
rebuilt. Modifications to this model included large external
fuel tanks for higher speed flights. It was this plane, in
X-15A-2 configuration (see picture below) that set the speed
record of mach 6.72, which stands to this day. X-15A2 with external fuel tanks,
white ablative paint, and mock-up of "Scram-Jet" engine. The
Scram-Jet engine project was never completed, and only the
non-functional mock-up was flight tested. The Scram-Jet
mockup is on display at the US Air Force Museum in Dayton
Ohio. The final X-15 flight was conducted
in November 1968, having completed a total of 199
missions. The 3rd X-15 built was destroyed in a
fatal crash in November, 1967. The surviving examples are
housed at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum (Washington
DC) and the United States Air Force Museum (Dayton Oh). The
Air Force Museum model is displayed on the floor, and the
viewer has direct access to the plane (though the museum
enforces a no-touch policy). This plane is also displayed
with the "scram-jet" mock-up, an engine that would have been
attached to the the lower tail section to provide higher
altitude and speed performance. The program was cancelled
before a working model was deployed.
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