X-24B aircraft. The X-24B aircraft was the last in a line of US lifting body research aircraft. They gained aerodynamic lift from the shape of the fuselage,rather than from wings. All were used to show that a re-entering spacecraft could be flown to a precise landing,as was the later Space Shuttle. The X-24B first flew on 1 August 1973,and was retired on 23 September 1975. After release at 15,350 metres,it could reach altitudes of 29,200 metres and speeds of 1860 kilometres per hour (Mach 1.76) powered by a rocket engine. Photographed in 1973,at Dryden Flight Research Center,California,USA |