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CONTENTS _ -_-_
....
I MISSIONAND ACCOMPLISHMENTS. ._c-_ ,; ....... 1

11 EARLIERRESEARCHAIRCRAFT -" ---'- 5

!!! CONCEPT,2HtSTORY,
AND TECHNICAL_iONS . . . 11

IV THE I-_ _tGHT PROGRAM .... _-::----- . .... 19

V FUTURE =_ 'zl
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For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing 04ee

NASAEP.9
/_AJ _ Washington, D.C., 20402- Price 30 cents
MISSION
ANDACCOMPLISHMEN
 In the fall of 1963, the X-15 completed a series of dental to the goals of the program. The real mis-
flights at speeds and altitudes never before attained sion of the X-15 is a quest for knowledge. In carry-
by any vehicle fully controlled by a pilot from launch ing out this mission, the X-15 has made a number
to landing on the ground. In the process of making of substantial contributions to the advancement of
almost 100 successful flights, it had essentially aerospace science.
completed its original program of flight research Although primarily an aeronautical vehicle with
and had begun to carry out additional aerospace wings and aerodynamic controls, the aircraft travels
experiments. well beyond the effective atmosphere on most of its
From conception through the phases of design, flights. At extreme altitudes, the pilot controls the
construction, test, and operation, it had rounded out X-15 by reaction jets, like a spacecraft; he is
some 11 years of exploring a variety of technological weightless for brief periods, and the research plane
and scientific problems. The X-15 program had reenters the atmosphere like a spacecraft.
produced 3 major conferences and more than 60 Thus, the research contributions of the X-15 em-
technical reports completed or in process. brace both 'aeronautics and space flight. Its flight
Probing ever higher and faster in the course of program has provided important knowledge appli-
a progressive series of research flights, the X-15 in cable to the design and development of future space-
August 1963 reached a peak altitude of 354,200 feet craft and to tomorrow's man-carrying aircraft, such
(67 miles)--more than three times as high as any as the commercial supersonic transport.
other winged aircraft. It had set two official (FAI) It is impossible to detail all the knowledge gleaned
world altitude records of 246,750 feet and 314,750 by the X-15, but a mention of some of the findings,
feet. On another flight it had reached 4,104 miles and their actual or potential applications, will point
per hour and it had repeatedly flown faster than up the research airplane's value.
3,600 m.p.h., a mile a second. In 1962, four of its One important contribution of the X-15 program
pilots had received the Robert J. Collier Trophy at resulted from the investigation of aerodynamic heat-
the hands of President John F. Kennedy for "the ing in a new regime of flight. Aerodynamic heating
greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics is a phenomenon of high-speed flight in which the
in America, with respect to improving the perform- high-velocity movement of air molecules over and
ance, safety, or efficiency of air and space vehicles." around an airplane brings about an increase in ten>
The "greatest achievement" for which it won this perature on the plane's surfaces due to friction and
trophy widely acknowledged as the highest in aero- compression. These temperatures must be taken into
space affairs_onsisted of that long series of flights consideration in the design of supersonic or hyper-
in the small, black-painted, stub-winged, rocket- sonic aircraft, because excessive aerodynamic heat-
powered research craft known simply as "X-15"-- ing could cause deterioration of the aircraft's struc-
in prdbing the unknown, investigating the suspected, tural integrity.
documenting the vaguely familiar. Before construction of tbe X-15, aircraft de-
Records have kept the X-15 in the public view signers believed it was possible to predict surface
through newspaper headlines, but records are inci- temperatures to be encountered at given speeds and
altitudes
by means ofexistingheattransfertheories. the internal corrugated web used for stiffening, were
Later,anextensive seriesof wind-tunnel testsin- encountered, and the cause was discovered. Before
vestigatedaerodynamic heating atveryhighspeeds. launch, the X-15 is carried to altitude by a B-52
However, thewindtunneltestsproduced values dif- plane, the research plane hanging suspended from a
ferentfrom the theoretical calculations.In the pylon under the B-52 wing. Close to and just out-
desigr,of theX-15,a compromise wasmadeby board of this pylon are a pair of the B-52's powerful
takingbothsetsof datainto account.TheX-15 jet engines. It was learned that extreme noise from
wasdesigned to withstand a maximum temperature these jets was causing metal fatigue in the X-15.
of1,200° F. Modifications to the structure corrected the prob-
In a numberof flights,the X-15exceeded this lem. The noise data may be applicable to the de-
maximum temperatureun(ter certain controlled con- sign ,,f future aircraft; for example, the data could
ditions, occasionally reaching a temperature of influence i_,cation of engines to minimize the
2,000 ° on the leading edges of the wing and tail. possibility of noise-induced metal fatigue.
Flight research also revealed that temperatures on The landing gear of the X-15 consists of a pair of
the fuselage, wing, and tail surfaces were generally retra,:tald,- skids, rather than conventional wheels,
lower by 100 ° or more than the predicted com- and a d(,ul,le-wheeled free-castoring nose gear.
promise figures. Although tile cause of the differ- Experi('n_e with this unique gear has proved valu-
ence is not fully known, it is now apparent that use able. Pr¢,_'isi,ms must be made for safe landings
of simple, unmodified wind-tunnel data may give for gli,h_-t:,pe spacecraft. Its landing gear must
inaccurate results for aerodynamic heating. Fur- meet all the usual requirements, and also be very
ther investigation of the differing values will be im- lighl and built of material that can withstand re-
portant to the design of all future hypersonic entry temp,'ratures. The X-15 provided a good
aircraft. Thus the X-15 made a contribution in opportunit.v to study the skid-type main landing
focusing attention on an unexpected problem area. gear, for the craft was instrumented to measure gear
The aerodynamic heating investigations of the loads, gear travel, and accelerations, data which will
X-15 are proving helpful in a number of other be very _aluable in designing future spacecraft
areas. The data acquired will be useful in the design landing-/ear systems.
of any reentry vehicle and certain new aircraft, such Even after six decades of aeronautical research,
as the supersonic passenger transport, which will tile behavi.,r of the boundary layer, the layer of air
encounter high temperatures for long periods and go clo._ _.to the surfaces of an airplane, is not completely
through repeated cycles of extreme heating and understood. The X-15 program included measure-
cooling. ments of skin-friction drag which will be applicable
The X-IS also has produced important knowledge to the design of any new high speed aircraft. In
on the glass needed for windshields and passenger addition, the research craft provided the first de-
windows in high-speed aircraft, and factors of its tailed full-scale drag data at Mach numbers from 2
installation and environment. Initially, a soda-lime to 6 (two to six times the speed of sound).
glass was considered adequate for any temperatures Many ,,f the complicated systems in the X-15,
the X-15 might encounter, but on one flight in 1961 some being used for the first time, have applications
a soda-lime windshield panel failed. As a result, a in tomorrow's supersonic and hypersonic aircraft,
new windshield of alumino-silicate glass was substi- and in space'craft. For instance, a new adaptive
tuted. On a later flight in 1961, the alumino-silicate flight c(mtrol system can provide an extra degree of
panel failed. The failures were not serious, inci- safety and reliability in the supersonic transport of
dentally, because the X 15 has double wind- the future. The X-15's spherical nose sensor, which
shield panels and only one of the outer panels failed indicates t,, the pilot angles of attack, sideslip and
in each instance. Analysis later indicated that re- dynami¢ prc._ure, is being adapted for use on
tainer design, not the glass, was the source of the NASA's Saturn 1 rocket vehicle for high-altitude
trouble, and the design was changed. _ in(t inv_.'stigations.
From the X-15 program, data have been gathered The X-15 also provides an unequaled opportunity
on the effect of high noise levels on aircraft mate- for deveh,pment of piloting techniques at high
rials. Failures of the horizontal and vertical tail spec()_ and (luring atmospheric exit and reentry,
surfaces, consisting of separation of the skin from when the pilot, at times, is subjected to high accel-

2
erationsanddecelerations andat othertimesis art. Thereare,andwill be,a greatmanymore.
weightless. In addition,theprogramhaspioneered Startedin 1952,theX-15programis a jointen-
newtypesofinstrument displaysforsupersonic and deavorof theU.S.Air Force,theNationalAero-
hypersonic aircraft. Forinstance,duringtheflight nauticsandSpaceAdministration, andthe U.S.
programa safetyaidknownasan"energymanage- Navy. Thepilotrecipients of theCollierTrophy
ment system"was developed by engineersof included a member of eachof thesethreeorganiza-
NASA'sFlightResearch Center.Thissystem con- tions--NASA'sChiefResearch Pilot JosephA.
sistsof a radarplotof theX-15flightpathanda Walker,Maj.Robert M.WhiteoftheAir Force,and
mapof theterrainoverwhichit is flying. In case Comdr.ForrestS. Petersen of theNavy--andA.
ofpremature engine shutdown, acomputer estimates ScottCrossfield, whomadethefirst demonstration
theenergyavailablein the aircraftandcomputes flightsfor NorthAmerican Aviation,Inc.,thecom-
howfar it cangoin anydirectionwithoutpower. panythatbuilttheplane.Otherpilotswhohave
Thepilotcarlthenbedirectedto a landingarea participated in theprogram includeMaj.RobertA.
withinhisglideradius.It appears possible to de- Rushworth andCapt.JoeH.Engle, bothUSAF,and
velopanadvanced versionof thissystem for other NellA. Armstrong, JohnB. McKay,andMiltonO.
vehicles.Theinformationobtained by the com- Thompson of NASA.
putercouldbetelemetered to anyaircraft,military In carryingoutitsprimarymission--the acquisi-
or commercial, in anemergency situation.Instead tionof newinformation eoncerningthebroadrange
of voicedirections, a cockpitdisplaywouldshow of flightconditionsin hithertounexplored flight
thepilotthelocationanddirectionof thenearest regimes--the X-15hasbeeneminently successful.
landingfield. Thiswouldbea vitalinstrument to Dr. HughL. Dryden,DeputyAdministratorof
thepilotof anysupersonic or hypersonic aircraft. NASA,calledit "themostsuccessful researchair-
A furtherdevelopment beinginvestigated is a com- planeeverbuilt." TheX-15 programis far from
pletelyairborneunitto performthesamefunction. finished;asthe basicobjectives areattained,the
These arebutafewofthewaysinwhichtheX-15 research vehicles will beassignednewandequally
co,_tributedto the advancement of theaerospace important tasksin aeronauticsandspace.
EARLIER
RESEARCH
AIRCRAFT
II
In the broad sense, every new airplane is a research airplane, a vehicle which has no purpose but the
airplane, since each new increase in performance is acquisition of flight data, a craft designed to carry
obtained through accumulated flight experience at only a pilot and instruments, rather than passengers
lower levels. Ira this manner, aircraft evolved over or cargo or mail, and not intended for production
the first four decades of powered flight from the 25- or any use except research. Its assignment was
mile-per-hour Wright Flyer of 1903 to the bombers exploration, probing unknown areas of flight and
and fighters of World War II, flying in the 200-to- gathering data on the behavior of aircraft in these
400-mile-per-hour speed range. flight regimes.
In the latter years of that war, the first operational The research airplane program got underway in
turbojet-powered aircraft came into being, and the 1944, when the Congress appropriated funds for
aircraft performance curve climbed beyond the 500- NACA and the military services to contract for two
mile-per-hour mark. It was obvious that the next types of research aircraft. The purpose of these
major step in speed increase would be a flight beyond planes was to explore the transonic speed range, the
the speed of souml, _hich is approximately 760 miles area from just below to just above Mach 1.
per hour at sea level and drops off to about 660 miles The first vehicle of the new program was a rocket-
per hour at high altitude. This was an unexplored powered aircraft called the XS-1, later redesignated
area of flight. Even the research tools of that day, the X-1. In 1944, Bell Aircraft Corp. was awarded
such as wind tunnels and free-flying models, could a contract for the design and construction of the
not provide adequate data upon which to base the X-l, which was to be capable of flying faster than
design of supersonic aircraft. More visionary minds sound. Rocket power was important because of
the speed and altitude requirements of the X-l, but
in the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
it limited flight duration because of the extremely
(forerunner of NASAl and the military services
high rate of fuel consumption coupled with the small
beliew_d that while the so-called "sound barrier" pre-
size of the vehicle. The second of the two research
sented design problems, supersonic flight was not
airplanes, the Douglas D-558-I, was jet powered,
only possible but inevitable. However, if aircraft
and although it did not have the speed potential of
were to tly faster than sound, a comprehensive re-
the X-l, it was capable of sustained flight in the
search program was needed to acquire scientific data Mach 0.9 region.
at speeds above Math 1, the technical term for the The X-1 was a small airplane, smaller than
speed of sound. fighter aircraft of the day. It was 31 feet long and
As a result, there came into being the research 10 feet 10 inches high, and its sturdy straight wing
 spanned only28 feet. Powerwassuppliedby a nally,in November 1953,the"Skyrocket" became
ReactionMotors, Inc., r¢_cketenginehaving the first airplaneto fly at morethan twice the
four separatechambers, eachproducing1,500 speed of s_und or Mach 2.005, when Scott Cross-
poundsthrust. Because of its briefpowerdura- tield, tlying as a research pilot for the National
tion,theX-1 washauledto altitudein the bomb Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, attained a
bayof a converted B-29bomber, thenreleased to speed of 1,291 m.p.h.
proceed on its ownpower.Threeof themwere There was a series of follow-on aircraft to the
built. StartinginJanuary191.6 atPinecastle Army X-I, modified versions of the basic X-l, designed
Air Base,Fla.,theX-1 wasputthrougha seriesof either for higher performance or for specialized mis-
glideflightsto checkout stability,control,and sions. _lhe most successful plane of this series was
landingcharacteristics. Then.in 1947,afterinstal- the X -1 A, which flew its first powered flight in Feb-
lationoftherocketengine, high-performance flights ruary 1933. The X-1A was similar in general de-
wereinitiatedat RogersDry Lakeat MurocAir sign to the ,,riginal X-1 series, but its fuselage was
ForceBase, Calif..latercalledEdwards AFB,Calif. lengthened by 5 feet. This increase in length per-
The X-1 madehistoryon October14, 1947. mitted installation of additional fuel which, with a
Onthatdate,atMuroc,Capt.Charles E.("Chuck") turbodriven propellant pump, provided a consider-
Yeager,USAF,made thefirstsupersonic flight,pilot- able irl_'r_ase in performance. Designed to explore
ingthelittlerocketplaneto a speed of Math1.06, flight chara, teristics at altitudes up to 90,000 feet and
or 700milesperhourat,1._,000 feet. Laterflights at speeds i1_ lhc vicinity of Mach 2, the X-1A ex-
reached Mach1.45and71,902 feet. ceeded hath goals in the course of its program, at-
Flightsof the D-558-I beganin April 1947. tainin_z a t,q_ speed of 1,612 miles per hour (Mach
Powered by a GeneralElectricTG-180turbojet, 2.435i and an altitude of 90,440 feet.
the"Skystreak," asit wascalled,was35feetlong, Other m,_dels of the X-1 series included the
12feethigh,andspanned 25feet. UnliketheX-l, X-1B, X-ID, and X-1E, the latter a thin-wing
it tookoff underitsownpc,wer. In thecourse of version _,f the X 1, with an ejection-seat system and
a seriesof flightsdesigned to investigate theaero- a low-pressure fuel system. A scheduled X-1C was
dynamicaspects of thestraight-wing configuration never completed, and the X-1D was destroyed by
athighsubsonic speeds, theD-558-Iattained a top fire during its first captive flight. Later, 500 ther-
speedof 650.8milesperhourin August1947,for mocouples itcmperature-measuring devices) were
anofficialworldrecord. installed in the X-1B for a project involving the
Thenextstepin theresearch airplaneprogram measureme_,t of the magnitude and distribution of
wastheDouglas1)-558II "Skyrocket," designed aerodynamic beating throughout the aircraft struc-
tostudytheflightcharacteristics of swept-wing air-
speeds.There ture. In another assignment, the X-1B was em-
craft at transonicandsupersonic ployed in an investigation of a prototype reaction
werethreeconfigurations of the D-558-II, one
control system designed for use in aircraft flying
powered by a singleturbojetengine, a second by above the effective atmosphere, where aerodynamic
a combination of jet androc'ket power,anda third controls arc ineffective.
by rocketpowerplant alone.AlthoughtheD-558_
The X-2, a major step in the research airplane
II wasdesigned likeitspredecessor (D-558-I)to
program, made its first powered flight in November
takeoff andlandunderits ownpower,thelater
phases oftheprogram utilizedaB-29forairlaunch. 1955. .'_ls,_ built by Bell, the X-2 was designed
TheD-558-1Ihadwingssweptatanangleof 35°. to expbw," a new regime of tlight at altitudes above
Firstflightwasmadein February1948,andover 100,0L_} feet and at Mach 3 speeds. The new rocket-
a longperiodtheresearch craftwaspushed tohigher plane had a long, sleek fuselage constructed of a
andhigherst_edsandaltitvdes.In August1951, nwtal _'all_'d K-monel; its wings, swept back at a
Douglas AircraftCo.testpil{_tBill Bridgeman flew 41)'_ angl_'. _,erc of stainless steel, as were the tail
it to 1,243m.p.h,and,8 dayslater,to 79,494 feet. surfaces. I)csigned for airdrop from a modified
In August1953,Lt. Col.MarionCarl,USMC,seta B-50 b,_mber, it had a conventional nose wheel but
newunofllcialaltituderecordof 83,235feet. Fi- no main wheels. Instead, it landed on a retractable

Among the earliest research airplanes to fly were these three: (opposite above) the transonic, _et-propelled
D-558-1 "Skystreak," (center) the rocket-powered X-I No. 1, which made the world's first supersonic flight on
October 14, 1947, and (bottom) the rocket-engined D-558-11 "'Skyrocket," which made the first flights at twice the
speed o/ sound, or 1.291 m.p.h.
¢

lJ '.; All? FORCE

,6675
skid. The cockpit could be blown away from the changed from 20 ° to 60 °, X-5 pilots were able to
rest of the fuselage in case of emergency, permitting select the angle most emcient for a given flight con-
the cockpit and pilot to descend by parachute, similar dition, such as a high degree of sweep for maximum
to the system provided for pilot emergency escape speed, or wings swept back only 20 °. for landing and
from the D-558-I and D-558-II. takeoff.
An important innovation in the X-2 was'its rocket The Convair XF-92A, originally designed as a
powerplant, designated XLR 25 and built by the fighter plane, was the world's first delta.wing air-
Curtiss-Wright Corp. This was the first throttleable plane capable of supersonic flight, although it nor-
rocket engine used in American aircraft. In earlier mally operated just below the speed of sound. This
rocketplanes such as the X-l, the amount of power valuable design was put to use as a research airplane.
applied was determined by the number of rocket By this means it became the progenitor of the highly
chambers fired--one, two, three, or all four. The successful F-102A, F-106, and B-58 programs of
X-2 had a throttle system similar to that of a jet years later. The design first flew as the XF-92 on
airplane, permitting any degree of power applica- September 18, 1948, and as XF-92A on July 20,
tion between 5,000 pounds minimum and 15,000 1951. Its last flight was in 1953.
pounds maximum of thrust. From the start of the high-speed research airplane
Two X-2's were built and both were lost in ac-
program in 1944 until the end of the X-2 program
cidents. In May 1953, while the research airplane 12 years later, these vehicles advanced the frontiers
was still attached to its P,-50 carrier on a flight near of manned aircraft flight from the subsonic regime
Buffalo, N.Y., an explosion in the X-2 necessitated of the early jets to a speed above Mach 3, and from
dropping it t_, crash in l,ake Ontario. The second altitudes on the order of 40,000 to more than
X 2 was lost in September 1956, when loss of con-
100,000 feet. In exploring new areas of flight, they
trol at very high speed led Capt. Milburn Apt,
uncovered new problems and brought about solu-
USAF, to activate the detachable cockpit mech-
tions. They checked out and validated data ob-
anism. He was killed in the accident. In the course
tained from wind tunnels, and obtained data not
of its brief flight program, the X-2 reached a maxi- available from the tunnels.
mum altitude of 126,200 feet and a top speed of
In addition to acquiring general flight informa-
Mach 3.20, or 2,09,1 m.p.h.
There were four other vehicles in the research tion, the research airplane program made a number
of specific contributions to aircraft design. For
airplane program: the Douglas-built X-3 _1952-
instance, the X-3 test program uncovered a phe-
56), the Northrop X-4 (1948-53), the Bell X-5
nomenon of high.speed flight known as "inertial
t1951-55), and the Convair XF-92A (1951-53).
coupling." At that time, the first supersonic oper-
The X 3, known as the Flying Stiletto, was a
needle-nosed aircraft with thin, straight wings. Its ational jet fighter was also encountering this diffi-
culty. Flights of the X-3, followed by an intensive
primary mission was to explore sustained controlled
study of the problem, led to a solution. The varia-
flight at speeds beyond Mach 1 and, as.a corollary
ble-sweep investigations of the X-5 produced results
assignment, to test the use of new aircraft metals
such as titanium. Because of the requirement for now being incorporated in the modern military
sustained flight, it was powered by a pair of turbo- fighter, the TFX, or F-Ill, and which might be
jets rather than a rocket engine. included in the design of the commercial supersonic
The X-4 marked another departure in aircraft passenger transport.
design. Powered by two tt, rbojets, it was designed In the aggregate, these "X" airplanes of the 1940's
without a horizontal stabilizer in order to investi- and 1950's produced a large volume of information
gate transonic stability characteristics of a semi- needed for design and construction of such modern
tailless airplane. aircraft as jet transports and modern Mach 2-plus
The X .5 explored another area of great interest to military aircraft. Yet as early as 1952 it was appar-
aerodynamicists, the performance of an aircraft with ent that an even more advanced research aircraft
a variable-sweep wing; that is, a wing whose angle was needed, one which could fly beyond the effective
of sweep could be changed in flight. With a cockpit atmosphere and at hypersonic rather than super-
control which permitted the sweep angle to be sonic speeds. This was the X-15.

The twin-]et X-3 (opposite. above) provided much data on thin wing configurations at transonic speeds; X-1A
(center). an improved version of the X-l, attained a world speed record o/ 1.612 m.p.h, and altitude of 90,440
feet, and (bottom) X-2, powered by throttlcable two-barrel rocket engine, n,as the first manned aircraft to fly
above 100,000 feet, and faster than Math 3.

9
 CONCEPT,
HISTORY,
ANDTECHNICAL
CONSIDERATION

10
III
The X-15 project had its birth in the summer of A dozen prospective contractors, invited to bid on
1952, when NACA directed its laboratories to study construction of the airplane, were given a briefing
concepts for very high altitude supersonic manned on the project requirements in January 1955, and
flight, the problems associated with it, and methods some time later four engine manufacturers were
of fully exploring the problem areas. Initially, con- asked to submit engine proposals.
sideration was given to wind tunnels and other lab- Proposals came in from four airframe companies.
oratory techniques or the use of rocket-boosted They were extensively evaluated through the sum-
models as research tools, but after some 2 years of mer and fall of 1955, and the bid of North American
study it was decided that the most effective tool was Aviation was selected. The initial contract, calling
the manned airplane. for construction of three airplanes, was awarded in
On the basis of its studies, NACA recommended December 1955.
to the Air Force and the Navy the development of a After a similar evaluation of the engine bids, the
research aircraft capable of flying at 6,600 feet per Research Airplane Committee decided in favor of
second (more than 4,000 miles per hour) and at Reaction Motors, Inc., which later became a division
250,000 feet altitude. The new research vehicle of Thiokol Chemical Corp. The engine proposed by
would be air launched. A major obstacle to the Reaction Motors would be capable of producing
construction of so advanced an airplane was lack of 57,000 pounds thrust in a single chamber, with in-
a suitable rocket engine; none was available with flight thrust variation from 50 to 100 percent and
the necessary thrust, reliability, and controllability. an operating duration of 90 seconds at full thrust.
In July 1954, a committee met in Washington to The engine contract was awarded in September
consider proposals advanced for a hypersonic 1956.
tfaster than Macb 5) research aircraft, and a pro- About the same time, it was decided to construct
posal advanced by NACA, based on 2 years of in-
a special instrumented range for X-15 flight opera-
tensiw_ re_arch, was accepted. Under direction of
tions, consisting of ground tracking stations to assist
the National Research Airplane Committee, com-
the pilot with information and guidance, and to lo-
posed of representatives of NACA, the Air Force,
cate the aircraft in case of emergency. Known as the
amt the Navy, NACA was assigned technical respon-
sibility for the project which would be financed by "High Range," this network stretches from Wend-
the Air Force and the Navy. The Air Force was over, Utah, to Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards, Calif.,
assigned responsibility for administering the design where X-15 flights originate and terminate. The
and construction phases. range is comprised of a master station at Edwards,

11
 The X-15 research airplane:
Design maximum velocity: 6,600
jt./ sec.
Design altitude: 250,000 ft.
Structural temperature to reach:
1,200 ° F.
AircraJt weight :
Launch--33,000 lb.
Landing--14,700 lb.
Powerplant : Rocket, throttleable
.from 17,100. to 57,000-1b. thrust,
sea level

and radar stations at Ely and Beatty, both in Nevada. had been anticipated. In January 1958, the Re-
Along this range and on each side of the flight cor- search Airplane Committee decided to use an alter-
ridor are numerous level dry lake beds, which can nate power system for initial X-15 tests. The
he used as emergency landing areas. Committee selected the XLR-11 engine which had
Following extensive wind funnel and structural demonstrated its reliability in the X-1 and D-558-
component tests. North American started actual fab- I I. Two such engines, each developing 8,000 pounds
rication _,f the X-15 in September 1957. Meanwhile, of thrust in four chambers, were to serve as interim
work began on modificaticm of two eight-jet B-52 po_er f_r th_• X 15 until the larger engine was ready
airplanes to serve as carriers for the air-launched for flight.
X-15. The first of the three X-15's was completed and
It hecame apparent, however, that the great amount moved t_ E, lwards AFB in October 1958, and
of development work required for the advanced lengthy pr_'parations for the initial flight tests got
rocket engine would require much more time than tnlderwav.

12
 TheX-15is relativelysmallasmodernaircraft tapered nose, is about as large as that in a modern
go,itsthinfuselage
stretching
50 feet from nose to jet fighter. A narrow windshield, with double
tail. f"airings extending along each side of the glass panels on each side, provides pilot visibility.
fllselage house control and propellant and hydraulic The stub wings have no conventional ailerons;
lines. The wings arty thin and stubby: they span control in both pitch and roll is supplied by simul-
only 22.36 feet, have 200 square feet of area, and are taneous or differential deflection of the horizontal
swept hack at an angle of about 25 ° at the 25-percent
stabilizer for flight within the atmosphere. The X-15
chord line.
has conventional landing flaps, located inboard on
The vertical tail is wedge-shaped in cross section,
the trailing edges of the wings.
broadening toward the rear, and it extends both
ah_ve and below the fuselage. Speed brakes, located The landing gear represents a departure from the
conventional. The X-15 has normal twin nose
in the tail, are activated by cockpit control to slow
the plane in reentry maneuvers. The cockpit itself, wheels but no wheeled main gear. Instead, it lands
located far forward of the wings and just behind the on two steel skids which pop out from the aft fuselage

13
belowthehorizontal
stabilizer.Onthelandingap- pounds of thrust. The system is set in motion by
proach,theskidsarelo_'ered
hya mechanicalsys- a twist on a handgrip at the side of the seat. An
tem, aided by gravity and the force of the airstream. automatic system blows the canopy free of the cock-
Before extending the skids, the pilot jettisons the pit and actuates the rocket, which boosts pilot and
movable lower or "ventral" portion of the vertical seat up and to the rear. A pair of folding fins and
tail to prevent its scraping the ground as the plane 9-foot booms pop out to provide stability and pre-
touches down. For landing, the pilot brings the re- vent tumbling. The pilot, protected by his pressure
search craft in for touchdown in a nose-high attitude suit, remains in the seat in free fall down to an alti-
so that the skids touch first; then the airplane settles tude of 15,000 feet. An automatic altitude-sensing
onto its nose wheel. device then separates pilot and seat and deploys a
Aerodynamic heating at the extreme speeds en- 24-foot-canopy parachute. Although X-15 pilots
countered by the X-15 can produce temperatures have not had to use this system, it has been fully
higher than 1,200 ° Fahrenheit. For this reason the tested by anthropomorphic dummies ejected from
X-15 is sheathed in temperature-resisting, heat- high-speed r,,cket sleds in ground tests.
treated Inconel X nickel-steel alloy. All three of the Aft of the pilot's compartment is a section which
X-15 airplanes are painted bla,'k, to radiate as much houses two identical auxiliary power units that sup-
heat as possible on reentry to the atmosphere. ply electrical and hydraulic power. Electrical
Inconel X is used in all areas exposed to high power is tJsed for the X-15's communication, tele-
temperatures, such as the skin of fuselage, wing, and metering, and recording equipment, for heating ele-
tail. Titanium is used extensively as inner wing ments, for the inertial guidance system and its
structure because of its high strength-to-weight ratio. computers, and for the plane's instrumentation. The
The primary structure of titanium and stainless steel speed brakes in the tail, landing flaps, and aero-
was designed to withstand heat which might pene- dynamic control surfaces are operated by hydraulic
trate the Inconel. For internal u_, where neither pressure supplied by the APU's.
high temperatures nor high loads are encountered, Adjacent to the APU's are a tank of liquid nitro-
aluminum is used. gen and two small spherical tanks of helium. The
As the X-15 flies outside the sensible atmosphere liquid nitr_g_n is used in the pressurization and air-
on its ballistic trajectory, conventional aerodynamic conditioning system, necessitated by the extreme al.
controls are ineffective. For this reason, the air- titudes and speeds at which the X-15 operates. The
plane is fitted with reaction control jets for main- helium is used for pressurizing the propellant tanks.
taining the desired attitude of the airplane. This A large section of the fuselage is taken up by the
system consists of eight small jet nozzles in the nose propellant s)stem for the rocket powerplant, con-
and four near the wingtips. These jets, fueled by sisting primarily of tanks of liquid oxygen, anhy-
hydrogen peroxide, pr_duce from 40 to 110 pounds drous anma)r_ia, and helium, together with feedlines.
of thrust, sufficient for all required maneuvers. The Finally, in the tail section, is the YLR-99 rocket
nose jets control pitch lup and down) and yaw engine. Combustion is brought about by mixing and
_side to side) movements; roll is accomplished by igniting the ammonia (fuel) and the liquid oxygen
the win_ip jets. The pil¢_t actuates these jets by (oxidizer), which are forced into the engine by a
means of a three-axis control stick on the left side turbine-driven pump. The engine can be throttled
of the cockpit. to supply from 30 to 100 percent of its total thrust
The pilot's ejection seat is the emergency escape _57,000 Frounds). It also can be shut down and
restarted in flight; it has an idle mode which
system for the X-15. Used in combination with
permits completion of about 85 percent of the engine
the full-pressure suit, the ejection system can fire
starting cycle before launch; and it is designed so
the pilot free of the airplane in an emergency and
that no single component failure will create a haz-
protect him from aerodynamic heating, windblast, ardous condition. The propellants are pressure
and excessive accelerations which would be caused
forced int_, the engine at the rate of 12,000 pounds
by tumbling. Designed to ,perate over a range of per tninutc, a flow more than 10 times that required
conditions from the ground at a speed of 100 m.p.h., for a m,_dern turbojet engine.
to an altitude of 120,000 feet at Mach 4, the seat
(Right) Copyright 1962 National Geographic
is powered by a rocket producing several thousand ,_ociety. Reproduced by special permission.

14
SPACE FLIGHT

ATMOSPHERIC FLIGHT
 ,-ANHYDROUS AMMONIA
YLR-99
ENGINE
/ TANK (FUEL)

/-- LIQUID OXYGEN

TANK (OXIDIZER)
_- LIQUID NITROGEN
/
/ ........
AUXILIARY
/" POWER UNITS

ATTITUDE ROCKEi" S
PEROXIDE

/,

HYDROGEN-I" HELIUM
PEROXIDE TANKS
EJECTION SEAT '_

Cutaway drawing ol the X-15 fuselage.

X-15 missions require very precise control, and or out of the atmosphere. The adaptive control
the pilot gets important control information from system deteunines the degree of aerodynamic or
an inertial guidance system _hich senses attitude, reaction coldrol needed to perform the maneuver
velocity, altitude, and distance. Data from the indicated by the movement of the control stick.
sensors are fed through a computer to the pilot's This is the first system capable of blending aero-
cockpit instrument display. dynamic and reaction controls at the critical point
Another important system is the "Q-Ball," so of atmospheric exit, where aerodynamic controls
called because "q" is the engineering symbol for become ineffective and reaction controls must take
dynamic pressure, a function of speed and air den- over.
sity. The Q-Ball is a spherical sensor located in A very important component of the X-15,opera-
the nose of the X-lS. A servomechanism causes tional complex is the carrier airplane, which hauls
the sphere to point into the relative wind at all times, the research craft to altitude. The air-launch tech-
and, through ports in the sphere, the Q-Ball senses nique, used _ ilh the X-1 and several other research
relative dynamic pressures. Its information is sent airplanes, permits the research airplane to begin its
to the cockpit, where inshuments indicate to the mission ir_ the relatively thin air at 40,0(O15,000
pilot the angles of attack and sideslip. These angles feet, far ab,,ve the dense lower atmosphere, where
must be maintained within certain limits on reentry dra_ for,'es are large. Air launching permits maxi-
maneuvers to avoid excessive aerodynamic beating. mum utiliz_di,,n of the rocket engine's brief power
An adaptive control system, or "thinking auto- duration.
pilot," is installed only on X-15 No. 3. A conven- Two l:;oeir_g B-52's were assigned to the X-15
tional autopilot requires a flow of information from program as carriers. The), lift the X-15 on a sup-
sensors, and it must also "know" in advance the flight porting p>l,m, located underneath the right wing of
characteristics of the xehiele it is controlling. The the B 52 between the fuselage and the right inboard
adaptive autopilot needs no advance "instruction." pair of jet engines. To accommodate the upper or
It permits the pilot to move the control stick exactly "dorsal" _ertical tail of the X-15, it was necessary
the same at an), time during the flight, whether in to cut away a portion of the B-52's flap and fix

16
the flaps in an "up" or retracted position. The of the X-15 through a closed-circuit television
carrier was also fitted with high-speed wheels, tires, system.
and brakes as a safety margin for no-flap takeoffs. The pilot of the X-15 launches himself by throw-
Since. liquid oxygen used in the X-15's propul- ing a switch in his cockpit.
sion system boils off during tile B-52 climb and The flight-monitoring staff at the "High Range"
cruise phase of a mission, it is necessary to "top stations performs a vital role in support of X-15
off" the X-15's lox tank in flight, just before launch. flight operations. The three "High Range" stations
For this purpose, a 1,500-gallon liquid oxygen tank are equipped with displays of the radar data, and
was installed in the B-52 bomb bay, together with selected channels of telemetered data. Duties of the

lines connecting the bomb-bay tank with the research staff include monitoring subsystems operations

airplane's lox tank. Other plumbing in the B 52 during the flight, and notifying the pilot of any dis-

includes lines carrying nitrogen for the X-15 pilot's crepancies; and furnishing information for position-
ing the 13_52 over the desired launch area at the
suit ventilation and breathing oxygen during the
correct time by advising the B-52 pilot of course
prelauneh phase, plus pneumatic pressure for open-
and countdown time corrections before launch. The
ing the X 15 attachment hooks on the pylon (the
High Range group also plovides the X 15 pilot with
hooks are normally actuated by hydraulic pressure).
energy-management assistance in the event of a pre-
In the forward pressurized compartment of the
mature engine shutdown.
B-52 was installed a console at which the launch
By early March 1959, the X-15 and its B-52
operator, an important member of the X-15 team,
carrier had been thoroughly checked out and pro-
can monitor the checkout of aircraft systems before nounced fit for flight test. The most rewarding
launch and can control the liquid oxygen top-off. test program in the history of winged flight was
The launch operator observes the fore and aft areas about to get underway.

The X-15's "'O-Ball," with a

rounded profile similar to a
ballistic missile's reentry nose
cone, senses angles o attack and
sideslip during exit and reentry
in the upper atmosphere, it
indicates attitude angles that
must be corrected to avoid
intense Jrictional heat limits as
the aircra# darts through the
atmosphere.

17
 THEX-15FLIGHT
PROGRAM

18
IV
The X-15 flight research program had a simple variations. For instance, the pilot is given a simu-
basis: A series of progressive steps to higher speeds lator problem involving changes in stability, the
and higher altitudes, each step providing new data amount of engine thrust, or the duration of thrust.
or confirming theoretical or wind tunnel data on Finally, the pilot goes through "trouble school," in
the characteristics of an airplane performing in a which the simulator induces failure of one or more
very advanced flight regime. For data acquisition, of the major systems, such as the powerplant, the
instruments were installed in the X-15 which Q-Ball, the stability augmentation system, the inertial
recorded the research data for later examination guidance system, or the radio or radar. Through
by scientists and engineers. The research craft was this series of "flights" on the ground the pilot be-
also fitted with telemetry equipment, so that certain comes thoroughly familiar with anything that might
critical portions of the data could be radioed to happen on an actual flight."
ground stations. A number of other training aids are used. A
The real start of the X-15 flight program came particularly useful tool is an F-104 jet airplane.
months before the first airplane was delivered. It This airplane has predetermined settings of lift and
started on the ground with "flights" in a highly drag devices and engine thrust designed to simulate
realistic X-15 simulator. This "six degree of free- the low lift-drag ratio of the X-15 on landing. Be-
dom" analog simulator, constructed by North fore each X-15 mission, the assigned pilot flies the
American Aviation and later transferred to NASA's F-104 to landings at the primary and alternate
Flight Research Center at Edwards, consists of an landing sites, establishing geographic checkpoints
exact replica of the X-15 cockpit, with actual hy- and key altitudes in the landing pattern and famil-
draulic and control system hardware, tied in to an iarizing himself with the timing and positioning nec-
analog computer. With this computerisimulator essary for an X-15 landing. Other variable-stability
link, pilots can "fly" any mission. Both pilot and aircraft have been employed in the X-15 training
ground controller become familiar with the plane's program to simulate handling characteristics under
handling characteristics and the timing required for a variety of flight conditions.
a given mission. Another training device employed in 1958, before
The usual practice is to "fly" a given mission delivery of the first airplane, was the human centri-
several times using normal procedures. Next, varia- fuge at the U.S. Naval Air Development Center,
tions from the planned mission are simulated, to Johnsville, Pa. The centrifuge consists of a gon-
acquaint the pilot with the overall effect of such dola, or cockpit simulator, at the end of a long arm.

19
Flights are simulated through control setup and • . . humatt centri/uge experience . . .
analog computer . . .

The gondola is rotated rapidly, like a high-speed numh,.r (,f dr_ lakebeds whose surfaces present ideal
merry-go-round, to produce '%" forces equivalent emergency landing fields, and the lakes are so lo-
to those anticipated during engine operation, shut- cated that i_ is possible to fly always within gliding
down, and subsequent reentry. The centrifuge distance .f at least one of them.
tests demonstrated that the pilot could successfully The xalu,., .f the "High Range" and its natural
control the X-15 under the predicted accelerations. emergency fields was attested to in January 1962,
Other simulators, heat and pressure chambers, were when Comdr. Forrest Petersen, USN, encountered
used to prepare pilots and equipment for the test trouble. After a normal launch near Mud Lake,
program. Nev.. ]geter_,e. experienced an engine failure due to
All X-15 flights are conducted on the "High a faulty pressure switch. After two unsuccessful
Range," which was completed befme the flight pro- attempts t_ restart the engine, he headed for his
gram began. The "tligh Range" is an air corridor emergency landing site according to plan. He jet-
50 miles wide and 485 miles long, stretching from tisoned his l_r,pellants and landed the X-15 safely.
Wendover, near Utah's Bomleville Salt Flats, to At each ,d the three "High Range" stations are
Edwards. About a third of the distance from Wend- tracking radars similar to those in use on the At-
over to Edwards is the first _f three ground stations, lantic Missile Range: plotting boards, velocity
atop a 9,000-foot mountain at Ely, Nev. The second emnputcr, t,lemetry receiver, data monitor, data
station, about another third of the way, is in the transmis_i,,n and receiving equipment, and com-
Bullfrog tlills near Beatty, Nev. The third station rnunic.di,,l_ equipment.
is at the NASA Flight Research Center at Edwards. ,\t the _r,_und stations, engineers monitor critical
The three stations are in a line. in a corridor temperature- and pressures. The'," are in wdce con-
remote from major cities. Alt,_g the corridor are a ta,'t x_ith th, X--15 and can signal the pilot instantl_

2O
• . . variable stability F-IOOC, and F-104 flights ...... and the X-15 aircraft flight simulator.

in case of trouble. The pilot's physiological re- treme altitude with the lower rudder removed.
sponses, such as pulse, heart action, and body tem- About the same time, engineers and technicians be-
peratures, are also telemetered to the ground gin their elaborate task of preparing the airplane for
stations, where flight surgeons stand by to interpret the flight.
them. All the telemetered information is recorded A profile view of the planned flight looks like an
on magnetic tapes for later reduction and analysis. inverted "V." The engine is to fire for 84 seconds,
Not all of the information acquired by the X-15 is during which time the X-15 will climb slightly more
telemetered, however; most of it is collected by than halfway up one side of the "V." From that
recorders in the airplane. point it will coast on momentum to peak altitude,
Terminus of an X-15 mission is Rogers Dry Lake, then start its descent. After the plunge through the
upper atmosphere, the X-15 will level off in its glide
a natural landing field at Edwards in the Antelope
and go on to Edwards. Total flight time will be
Valley of the Mojave Desert. Twelve miles long, the
approximately 11 minutes.
lake provides plenty of landing room for the X-15,
Just before flight day, a mission briefing is held
and its level surface of fine clay and silt is almost as
for everyone concerned. Then there is a final crew
hard as concrete.
briefing for the X-15 pilot and the B-52 crew, and
For a detailed view of an X-15 operation, let us for the pilots of the jet "chase planes," who will ob-
follow a typical flight. The first step in any flight is serve the flight and assist in any way possible, such as
mission planning, in which pilots and engineers map helping check the X-15 control movements on the
out every detail of the flight, second by second and prelaunch control sequence.
maneuver by maneuver. The objective, in this case, A final "premating" inspection, including a check
is to be an investigation of structural and aerody- of all systems in the X-15 and the B-52, is con-
namic heating and reentry techniques from an ex- ducted and last-minute adjustments are made.

21
 /

G-stresses at leveling-off po;nt-65,000 feet-- /

swell Walker's 164 pounds to over 900. /

He slows plane and lands at more than 200 :' /

m.p.h. Total fl;ght tlme: 11 minutes 8 seconds
/

Los Angeles

22
 In space, the X-15 behaves llke a Mercury
capsule, using small iets in nose and wing
tips to control pitch, roll, and yaw

On pilot Walker's record altitude run of August

22, 1963, he cuts rockets off at 170, 300
feet, 86 seconds after ignition. Space flight
begins. Pilot becomes weightless

Cradled under a B-52's wing,

the X-15 is carried to 45,500 feet
over Mud Lake, Nevada

!
After a j_op_ 1,450 feet, the rocket engines /

j_l_r_nte actioff as the X-15 starts its climb

4
Tonopah

N "_ _sBt__;- Beafty_ &i1_JEdwards--n_t'_ns

and rec_ere_.::; _....

on the_lll_l_b-6_nance '_:_

Copyright 1962 National Geographic Society. Reprod.ced by special permission.

23
(,4bore, le/t:) The X-15 attached under the right wing o its B-52 ,-.rrier heore a flight. (Above, right:) NASA

research pilot Joseph ,4. H"alker being zipped into his inner flight _uit. (Opposite, upper le/t:) Pilot Walker

(right) approaches the B-52 and X-15 to go aboard/or a flight. (t)pp.site, upper right:) View /rom the B-52

carrier plane just beore an X-15 launch. (Opposite. below:) Th. +i- 15 has dropped #ee and is on its way.

Next, the X-15 is rolled out on a dolly, hoisted up to pilot and the launch operator run through the long
the pylon below the B 52 wing, and all the connec- "litany" of the checklist, making sure all systems
tions are umde. The airplanes thus "mated" and are il_ prof)cr working order. Seven minutes before
ready for flight, the 21-hour (:ountdown begins.
taun,'h, ttn. pilot switches on his auxiliary power units
Hours before flight time. technicians have started
and mak,.s ftnal checks of the hydraulic and electrical
servicing both craft, tilling the tanks with liquid
power systems. At the 4-minute mark he checks the
oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen peroxide, and helium--
propellar_t jettisoning systems and with 3 minutes
for pre_urization, for cooling, for breathing oxy-
t_, g_J In. t,.sts the control motions under close obser-
gen, for the B-52's pneumatic system, and for the
vati¢,n ¢_f the ,'base pilots and the launch operator.
X-15's auxiliary power units and its reaction con-
Now al)proa_.hing Smith Ranch Lake, the planned
trols. Among the last items on the servicing
launch l:,,)il,t, the B-52 turns southward in the gen-
checklist are the X-15's propellants, liquid oxygen
and ammonia, and the helium used for tank t_ral ,lir,'ction of Edwards, 315 miles away, at a
speed of nt-arlv 600 miles per hour and 45,000 feet
pressurization and liquid expulsion.
The X-15 pilot and the B-52 crew board their altitude. Th_ B-52 pilot now signals the 1-minute

airplanes. The X-15 canopy is closed and locked. warning, lrl the X-IS, the pilot switches on the

The B-52 pilots run through the lengthy B-52 enginl _ n_astcr switch and gives a final "OK." The

cockpit check; then they start their eight jet engines. B-52 pilot turns on the master arming switch. Over

The X-15 pilot and launch operator conduct a the radit, c,.,mes the countdown--"Five, four, three,

similar check of the research airplane. As the chase two,,,ne . . . DROP!"

planes take off, the B-52 rolls to the end of the run- As the latH,:h switch is turned on in the X-15, the
way: then, engines roaring, it takes off and climbs pylon hooks spring open and the X-15 drops rap-
northward. iAl_. ll_ 1,il,,t starts the mighty rocket engine and
As the B 52 climl)s toward the drop area, the X 1.5 :_dvan¢._.s tt,_. throttle to 100 percent power. The

24
25
The X-15 on November
9, 1961, when Air Force
pilot Ma]. Robert M.
White attained a speed
ot 4,094 m.p.h.

X-15 accelerates rapidly, and within a matter of more than 2 minutes at the top of the trajectory the
seconds is flying faster than sound, climbing at a pilot has been weightless.
48 ° angle. In 30 seconds it is flying at twice the The X-15 picks up speed as it plunges downward.
speed of sound. At 200,o0_/ feet, 5 minutes after launch, it is hur-
The engine is functioning perfectly, its 59,000 tling carth,_ard at 1 mile a second, approximately
pounds of thrust pushing the research plane ever Mach 5.
faster during the climb. Then, 88 seconds after No_ the X-15 heads into the atmosphere, aero-
launch, comes the preplanned "burnout," the engine dynamic controls once more taking over, the nose
quitting with a dying rumble. The X-15 is now at and win_s glowing red from friction as air mole-
170,000 feet in a steep climb, flying more than five cules whip over the plane's surfaces. The altimeter
times the speed of sound. At this altitude, above needle drol,s sharply, but speed remains high, down
99.99 percent of the earth's atmosphere, the pilot to al,ou! lq_(t.t)(POfeet. The pilot gradually flattens
controls the plant." with the reaction jets, using the his angle ,,f ch,scent and heads for the landing at
automatic adaptive control system. Edwards. The airplane skids along a straight path
Despite the lack of power, the X-15 continues more than 5,00_ feet long on the dry lakebed before
to climb on momentum, with only a slight loss of it com_ to a stop.
The X-15 first took to the air on March 10, 1959.
speed, following a ballistic trajectory like a missile.
This was a "captiw;' flight, one in which it was car-
Three and one-half minutes after launch, the X-15
ried aloft under the B-52 wing for an airborne
reaches a peak altitude of 354,200 feet, at a speed of check ,,f all systems and a validation of wind tunnel
more than Mach 4, well over 2,000 miles per hour. studies reg,,ding the aerodynamic characteristics of
Now, as the pilot extends the speed brakes in the tail. the B 52X 15 mating, but was not dropped. Three
the X-15 noses over and starts down the other side morc ,'aptive flights were made on April 1, April
of the inverted "V," toward the critical reentry. For 10. a,d May 21 of that year, attempting to make

26
the first flight. Eachtime,a system malfunction aft of theinstrument bay,skiddingsome1,500feet.
prevented launching oftheX-15. Crossfieldescapedinjury. The X-15 No. 2
OnJune8, 1959,theX-15wasair-launched for wasreturnedto NorthAmerican Aviationfor re-
thefirsttime,butona powerless glideflightwhich construction.Ninetydayslaterit wasin theair
lasted5 minutes.PilotScottCrossfield of North again.
AmericanAviation madea successful landing In theearlymonthsof 1960,X-15Nos.1 and2
on thelakebedat Edwards.Then,on September madefourmorepowered flights. Aftercompletion
17, 1959,Crossfield completedthe first powered of thisphase of thecontractor's demonstration pro-
flightwiththeinterimXLR-11engines.Heflewto gram,theNo. I airplanewasofficiallyaccepted by
an altitudeof 52,341feetandreached a speedof theAir Forceandturnedoverto NASA. NASA's
Mach2.1,or 1,393milesperhour. ChiefResearch Pilot Joseph A. Walkermadethe
Thefirstmajortroublein theX-15program was first Government flightonMarch25,1960,reach-
encountered on thethird powered flight,madeon inganaltitudeof 48,630feetanda speed of Mach
November 5, 1959,with Crossfield againat the 2.
controls.Aftera normallaunchat44,000 feet,there Meanwhile X-15 No.3, equipped withthelarge
wasanexplosion in theengineduringthestarting
sequence. Theexplosion blewoffseveral inchesof XLR-99engine, hadbeendelivered toEdwards and
oneof theeightrocketchambers.Crossfieid im- wasbeingput througha seriesof systems checks.
mediately shutdownthepowerplant, jettisoned the OnJune8,1960, theX-15program suffered another
fuel,andheaded for thenearestalternate landing setback duringthefirst enginegroundrun in the
field,Rosamond DryLake,partoftheEdwards com- No.3. A fueltankpressure regulatorfailed,over-
plex. After a normal approach,Crossfield pressurizingthefueltankandcausing anexplosion
encountered a secondmalfunction, wherithe nose whichblewtheplaneapart. Theairplanewassent
landinggearfailedastheX-15toucheddownon backto theNorthAmerican plantfor rebuilding.
thelakebed.TheX 15virtuallybrokein twojust Whileit wasdismantled theadaptive flightcontrol

Gear down, nose up, the X-15 glides in at more than 200 m.p.h, to a landing on the dry lakebed.
system was installed. X 15 No. 3 was redelivered
to Edwards in the fall of 1961.

During the latter part of 1960, while the Govern-

ment pilots were making a series of flights with the

No. 1 airplane, X-15 No. 2 was being fitted with

the XLR-99 engine. After successful ground tests

and two airborne captive flights, Crossfield made the

first flight with this engine on November 15, 1960,

attaining a speed of Macb 2.97.

A series of flights followed in which the flight "en-

velope" was expanded gradually, speeds and alti-

tudes being increased in steps. On November 9,

1961, Major White reached the design speed goal

with a flight at 4,094 miles per hour. This flight d

completed extension of the speed portion of the

envelope, although a slightly higher speed was at- It

tained on a later flight. On April 30, 1962, NASA's

Walker flew to 246,700 feet, essentially achieving the

design altitude goal. By this time, however, it was

apparent that the X-15 was capable of considerably

higher altitudes, possibly up to 400,000 feet.
Pilot Joseph 4. Walker completes postflight checks
Some milestones in the X-15 flight log are shown a/ter a suceess]ul ]light.
in the accompanying tabulation :

FLIGHT LOG

FLIGtIT SPEED MAX.

I)ATE NO.* PILOT MACtI M.I).ll. ALT. REMARKS
NO. (FT.)

6-8-59 1-1- 5 Crossliehl ........ 0. 79 522 37, 350 I)lanned glide flight.
9-17-59 2-1-3 Crossfield ........ 2.11 l, 393 52, 34 I First powered flight.
3-25-60 1-3-8 Walker .......... 2.00 1,320 ,18, 63() First Government flight.
8-12-60 1-10-19 White ........... 2.52 1,772 136, 500 Maximum ahitude with LR-11 engines.
11-15-60 2-10 21 Crossfiehl ........ 2.97 1,960 81, 20O Iqrst flight with XLR 99 engine.
12-9-60 1 19 32 Armstrong ....... 1.80 1, 188 50, 095 First "Q-Ball" flight.
2 7 6I 1-21-36 White ........... 3.50 2,275 78, 150 I,ast I,R-II flight; Maximum speed with LR
11 engines.
3-7-61 2-13-26 White ........... 4. 13 2,905 77, )50 First Government XLR-99 flight; first Mach
No. 4 airplane flight.
6-23-61 2 17 33 White ........... 5.27 3,603 107, 70O First Maeh No. 5 airplane flight.
10-4-61 1-23-39 I{ushwortfi ...... 4. 30 2,831) 78, 001) First flight made with lower ventral off.
10-11-61 2 20 36 White ........... 5.21 3,617 217,001) Iqrst airplane flight above 200,000 feet; outer
panel of left windshiehl cracked.
11-9-61 2-21 37 White ........... 6.04 4, 09_ 1(}1, 60o }lighest Mach number achieved; outer panel
()f right windshield cracked; first Mach No. 6
airplane flight.
12-20-61 3-1-2 Armstrong ....... 3. 76 2, 502 81, ,00q) First flight for X-15 No. 3, equipped with
adaptive flight control system.
1-10-62 1-25 44 Petersen .......... 97 645 )4, 75O Emergency landing on Mud Lake after engine
failed to light; performed without incident.
4-30-62 1-27-48 Walker .......... 4.94 3,489 2)6, 700 I)esign ahitude flight and official FAI world
ahitudc record.
6-27-62 1-30-51 Walker .......... 5.92 4, 104 123, 70O Highest speed achieved.
7-17-62 .? 7-14 White ........... 5.45 3,832 314, 75o E_I world ahitude record; first airplane flight
above 300,000 feet.
ll-9-62 2-31-52 McKay ......... 1.49 1,019 53, 950 Engine malfunction; extensive damage to
airplane in emergency landing, Mud Lake,
Nev.
5-29-63 3-18-29 Walker .......... 5. 52 3,858 92,000 inner panel of left windshield cracked.
6-27-63 3-20-31 Rushworth ...... L 89 3, 125 285.0OO f'iftieth flight over Maeh 4.0.
7-19-63 3-21-32 Walker .......... 5. 29 3, 710 3)7, 80O
8-22-63 3-22-36 Walker .......... 5. 58 3, 794 35t, 2011 Fortieth flight over Mach 5.0.

*Flight activity code: 211 nmut_er flight numher for specified airplane.
1st number X-15 airplanennmber. 3d ,nmd,('r X 15/B-52 airhorne mission numher.

28
 X-15 research pilots:
(/rom le/t) Maj. Robert
A. Rushworth, USAF ;
John B. McKay, NASA ;
Comdr. Forrest S.
Petersen, USN; Joseph A.
Walker, NASA Chie/
Research Pilot; Neil A.
Armstrong, NASA; and
Maj. Robert M. White,
USAF Project Pilot.

(Le/t:) Maj. Robert M.

White, USAF. (Right:)
Joseph A. Walker, NASA.

29
 FUTURE

30
V
By the summer of 1963, all of the major research than research balloons. It has advantages over

objectives of the X-15 program had been accom- sounding rockets in that it can bring its information
and equipment back to earth for detailed study,
plished, but there remained a lot of work for the
whereas in most cases sounding rocket data must be
research craft.
telemetered to the ground, usually only for a brief
Part of the continuing assignment for the X-15
period during flight. The presence of the pilot, who
consists of further, detailed research on subjects
can observe, make judgments, and report unfore-
already partially investigated, such as the studies of
seen findings, is of course invaluable. As a space
aerodynamic heating, operational and control prob- research vehicle, the X-15 does not compete with
lems, bioastronautics, hypersonic aerodynamics, other types of spacecraft; rather, it supplements
structures, and problems of exit from and reentry to them.

the earth's atmosphere. While considerable data One primary project assigned the X-15 is an ex-
have been accumulated in these areas, a single ex-
periment involving photograph.y of the ultraviolet
ploratory mission in the X-15 is necessarily of lim- rays of the stars. On earth, and at the lower alti-
ited duration and several flights covering the same tudes, these rays are obscured by ozone in the
subject matter may be needed to cover the speed, earth's atmosphere. One of NASA's major projects
altitude, and angle of attack regions of interest. As is the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO),
an example, further valuable information was designed to take stellar photographs as it orbits the
acquired by varying flight conditions; for exam.pie, earth far above the distorting atmosphere. The X-
by conducting reentry maneuvers over a wide range 15 will play a vital supporting role in the stellar
of angles of attack. photography program, as a precursor to OAO and
The X-15 has also been assigned a new role to as a flying test bed for checking out the type of
carry out a number of new experiments in aero- equipment to be used in OAO. It is planned to make
nautical and space sciences. Early in 1962, the a series of X-15 stellar photographic flights to alti-
National Research Airplane Committee approved tudes above 40 miles, to obtain preliminary infor-
this new program, which involved some modifica- mation pertaining to the origin and composition
tions to the airplanes and the installation of certain of the stars.
new types of equipment. For these flights, new instrumentation will be
The X-15 offers considerable utility as a space installed in the X-15. It consists of a gimbaled
research vehicle. While it cannot attain the alti- platform containing four cameras, mounted in the
tudes of earth satellites, it can fly a great deal higher instrument bay behind the pilot's cockpit. Clam-

31
shelldoorscoveringthe baycarlbeopened by a two age_cies. The extended program added at
cockpitcontrolastheX-15exitsfromtheatmos- least :{5 flights to the original schedule, and will
phere.Thepilotthenmaneuvers theX-15intothe require am_tl,er 2 years or more.
desiredpositionfor photography of a targetstar. Earn in 1963 a decision was made to rebuild the
Astheairplane followsitsballistictrajectory"over X-15 N_. 2. damaged at Mud Lake in November
thetop,"thecameras carltakea continuous series 1962. IH Icbuilding, the aircraft will be modified
of photographsin differentultravioletwavelengths. to give it a Math 8.0 speed capability. This will be
Theinstrumentation _eighs,_nly200pounds;the accompli._:hc_l by adding jettisonable external pro-
stabilityequipment,needed t_ getthedesired aim- pellant tanks.
ing accuracy, weighsab,_ut160poundsandthe What comes after the X-157
cameras another
40pomMs.Thenumberofphotos Despite the incredible performance capabilities of
whichcanbetakenon a gii,('n flight, of course, de- the X 15. there is a need for a still more advanced
pends on how long the X 15 stays above the filtering research airplane. Although the X-15 has achieved
ozone in the atmosphere. On a flight to .1,00,000 hypers¢,r,ic sp_ed, it has penetrated only the lower
feet, for instance, there would be available 4 minutes limits of tlw h)personic range. For detailed studies
of exposure time, which is considered ample for c,f hyl)c_s,,ni,, flight characteristics, much use
this type of experiment. could h_ made of a vehicle capable of flying in the
In another n|ission to c_me. the X-15 will carry Math _ It) _peed range. Such a research craft
a horizon scamaer tc, study li_zht across the spectrum. couht play ar_ important role in the development of
The purpose of this investigalion is to acquire data a rec_;vcrahle space booster and, in the distant fu-
on means for accurate sensing of the horizon at ex- ture t_ _hi_:h NASA scientists are already looking,
treme ahitvdes. Tiffs information can be used in a hypers,,ni_: c,_mmercial transport. Toward this
the development of improved attitude and guidance erld. NAS_'_ ,nd the Department of Defense are
references for earth orbiting spacecraft. stud) ing the. l,ossible need for an advanced research
craft.
In still another experiment, an ionization gage
will be mounted in a small pod on the X-15 wingtip, As plarming for future hypersonic vehicle pro-
ceeds, th_ X-15 will continue to add new volumes
for measurements of atmospheric density above 100,-
to man's knowledge. The more than $200 million
000 feet. For an investigation of micrometeoroids,
invested in the program to date has already paid
another similar wingtip pod will he employed.
enormous dividends, and more will be forthcoming.
The follow-on program also irrvolves evaluation
The "m,_t _uccessful research airplane ever built,"
of advanced systems and structural materials. For
the pathfimh_r ,_f manned, maneuverable, hypersonic
example, a new airborne computer, designed to en-
flight, _ ill some day take its place in the National
able the pilot to plan his landing pattern from re- Air Mus,,um of the Smithsonian Institution along
entry to touchdown, will be tested. with the other great aircraft and spacecraft in the
These follow-on experiments, and others in the national treasury, hut in the intervening years it
proposal stage, will be conducted jointly by NASA bids fair' t,, add new milestones to the march of
and the Air Force, _ith funding shared between the scientific progress.

32
'J.S GOVERNMENT PRINTING 0FFIC_:1964 0-"'-693-"828