X-15
Fastest crewed aircraft
The X-15 was an experimental rocket-powered aircraft operated by NASA and the U.S.
Air Force from 1959 to 1968.
It set speed and altitude records that still stand for piloted, powered aircraft—reaching over 4,500 miles per hour and flying to the edge of space.
The program generated data crucial to later spacecraft design, and several X-15 pilots earned astronaut wings by exceeding 50 miles altitude.
Faster than Mach five
- NASAFederal space exploration bureau
- USAFAmerican aerial military branch
- experimentalTesting new methods
- B-52Heavy strategic bomber
fuselage · titanium · cockpit · aerodynamic · ballistic · Edwards
Below orbital altitude
- reentryComing back in
- spaceplaneDual-realm aerospace craft
- weightlessnessAbsence of apparent mass
- altitudeMeasured height above reference
boundary · thermosphere · pioneering · spacecraft · ablative · Mercury · precursor · apogee
Most rapid of all
- highestTopmost in position
- pilotedOperated an aircraft
- achievementAccomplished goal or deed
- milestoneNotable event marking progress
aviation-history · record-breaking · extreme · unprecedented · benchmark
Spacecraft crew member
- heroicExceptionally brave and noble
- trainedTaught a skill
- skilledHaving learned ability
- courageousShowing bravery under threat
Physics of air motion
- instrumentationDesign of measuring devices
- telemetryDistant automated data collection
- thermalPertaining to warmth
- ablationRemoval by cutting, melting
stability · heating · sensors · experiments · scientific · engineering · atmospheric · reusable
hypersonic
Faster than Mach five
- NASAFederal space exploration bureau
- USAFAmerican aerial military branch
- experimentalTesting new methods
B-52 · fuselage · titanium · cockpit · aerodynamic · ballistic · Edwards
suborbital
Below orbital altitude
- reentryComing back in
- spaceplaneDual-realm aerospace craft
- weightlessnessAbsence of apparent mass
altitude · boundary · thermosphere · pioneering · spacecraft · ablative · Mercury · precursor · apogee
fastest
Most rapid of all
- highestTopmost in position
- pilotedOperated an aircraft
- achievementAccomplished goal or deed
milestone · aviation-history · record-breaking · extreme · unprecedented · benchmark
astronaut
Spacecraft crew member
aerodynamics
Physics of air motion
- instrumentationDesign of measuring devices
- telemetryDistant automated data collection
- thermalPertaining to warmth
ablation · stability · heating · sensors · experiments · scientific · engineering · atmospheric · reusable
- X-Planes
- aerospaceairplane, helicopter, rocket, rockets, spacecraft
- rocketsrocket, rockets, ballistic missile, booster, boosters
- spaceflightlaunch, astronaut, spacecraft, liftoff, orbit
- Experimental AircraftX-plane, X-planes, demonstrator, proof of concept, SpaceShipOne
- SpaceplanesSpace Shuttle, SpaceShipOne, Hermes
X-15Space Shuttle
Reusable orbital spacecraft
International Space Station · deep space probe · Mercury capsule · Vostok · Soyuz
X-15Piper Cub
Lightweight single-engine aircraft
Cessna 172 · glider · Wright Flyer · blimp · hot air balloon