On June 8, 1959, NACA test pilot Scott Crossfield made the first powered flight of the North American X-15 — a rocket-powered research aircraft that would go on to set world records for speed and altitude that stand to this day. The X-15 program produced 12 astronauts and fundamentally shaped American aerospace.
The X-15 was unlike any aircraft that came before it. Carried aloft by a B-52 mothership, dropped at altitude, and powered by a single rocket engine burning anhydrous ammonia and liquid oxygen, the X-15 could reach speeds above Mach 6 and altitudes above 50 miles — the boundary of space as defined by the U.S. Air Force.
In 199 flights between 1959 and 1968, the X-15 provided data that directly informed the design of the Space Shuttle and every subsequent hypersonic vehicle. Eight of its 12 pilots earned U.S. Air Force astronaut wings by flying above 50 miles. Neil Armstrong flew the X-15 seven times before becoming the first man to walk on the Moon.
The program was not without cost. In 1967, X-15-3 broke apart during a flight flown by Major Michael Adams, who was posthumously awarded Air Force astronaut wings. Adams was the only fatality of the program — a remarkable record given the extraordinary performance envelope the X-15 explored.
The X-15 flew where no plane had gone before. At Cleared4Tees, we build tees for pilots who push every limit.
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Blue skies and tailwinds — The Cleared4Tees Crew ✈️
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