ISINGLASS

ISINGLASS was a project for a very fast (sub escape velocity) recon aircraft, or perhaps spacecraft if you get picky.

ISINGLASS

The paper alluded to in this article is the one I scanned. It can be found here:
CIA declassified papers

I came across a few bits of info that point to the X-15 being a scaled up version of project Isinglass.

[edit on 4/12/2010 by staple]

For a while North American Aviation pushed the idea of using the XB70 as a mothership for the X15.

There is a book called "Valkyrie" ISBN 978-1-58007-130-7 with an intriguing plan view drawing by somebody called Tony Landis of a XB70 mothership carrying a modified (delta winged) X-15 on it's back. Also on the same page, there is a mock up image of a space plane (again resembling a delta X15) launching of the back of an XB70, this composite is credited to Boeing hystorical archives.

Now I know this is all a re-telling of the brilliant buzzard stories but I can't help feel there is a story here and McDonnell Douglas certainly have heritage in the space plane business

Artistic fantasy or a nugget of truth?

[edit on 12-4-2010 by Catalytic]

[edit on 12-4-2010 by Catalytic]

I retract my earlier speculation

Isinglass was more likely an air launched, rocket boost phase, glider of some description. (by this read B52 style mothership / big bloody rocket, booster not an XB70 derivitave mothership as that is a different story!

It seems increasingly likely that this thing was real, who knows maybe we'll hear more about it sometime soon....