X-15 aircraft flight preparations, 1960s. Footage of preparations for a flight of an X-15 aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, California, USA. The footage includes closing the pilot's cockpit, and views of the aircraft attached to a wing of its B-52 mothership. The exhaust nozzle of the powerful XLR99 rocket motor is seen, as well as part of the fuelling with ammonia and liquid oxygen. The X-15 was a rocket-powered research aircraft designed to fly at hypersonic speeds. Manufactured by North American Aviation, it was operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Twelve pilots flew three X-15s on a total of 199 missions between 1959 and 1968. The X-15 was carried into the air by one of two converted B-52 bombers and released at high altitude. The pilot then ignited the X-15's rocket motor for a flight lasting around 10 minutes. It was the first plane to reach the edge of outer space (the highest altitude attained was 107 kilometres), and set records for the fastest manned aircraft (7, 274 kilometres per hour, or Mach 6.72). Landings after successful flights took place at nearby Rogers Dry Lake. |