The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft which was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft.

North American X-15A-2 on display in the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Space Gallery.The X-15 was an important tool for developing spaceflight in the 1960s, and pilots flying above 50 miles altitude in the X-15 earned astronaut wings.

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Three X-15 research aircraft were built and flown, completing a total of 199 research flights. The National Air and Space Museum has the historic X-15 #1, Air Force serial 56-6670. The X15 #2 (56-6671) was rebuilt following a landing accident as the advanced X-15A-2, having increased propellant capacity and, hence, a higher potential performance.

The X-15 is one of the most successful aircraft of the X-Plane series of experimental aircraft. Designed in the late 1950s to explore high altitudes and high speeds the X-15 flew 199 times and set both altitude and speed records. Eventually the X-15 flew high enough to earn its pilots Astronaut wings.

An information and location guide to the spacecraft used in the American conquest of space. Includes all production spacecraft, flown and unflown, as well as boilerplates, trainers, mockups and models.

2010年8月28日 · The X-15 remains the fastest and highest flying manned aircraft ever flown, and is regarded by many as the most important research plane in history. The X-15 emerged from …

The X-15 that hangs in the Smithsonian Institution's National Air Space Museum is the first of three built by North American Aviation. It was rolled out on October 15, 1958, 15 days after its...

Forty years ago, in January 1960, the X-15-1, 56-6670 had returned to Edwards Air Force Base after the installation of its pair of Reaction Motors XLR-11 engines. It had been carried on four captive flights before it made a single glide flight on June 8, 1959.

The North American X-15 rocket-powered research aircraft bridged the gap between manned flight within the atmosphere and manned flight beyond the atmosphere into space. After completing its initial test flights in 1959, the X-15 became the first winged aircraft to attain velocities of Mach 4, 5, and 6 (four, five, and six times the speed of sound).