x-15

Anyone got any decent pics/info on the X-15?
I know it goes mach 6+, and flies 300+ thousand feet above the surface, but that's all....
any info in general is appreciated
thanks

www.dfrc.nasa.gov...

heres a link to some pics on the X-15

i dont know much about it though
looks pretty cool !!

it's an amazing aircraft, just not much use in a military context, able to fly powered for like 120 seconds, max...

Actually it had zero military functions and was a pure X plane (and, when I say 'X plane' I use the phrase in the traditional sense, not the way some use it around here to denote classified military craft).

It and the X-24 were direct conceptual ancestors to the space shuttle and various X-Prize concepts.

Some of its pilots were awarded astronaut's wings after the program ended, as they technically flew (on some occasions) into 'space'.

X for eXperiment.

eXperimental-planes.



Learn this and you will be better off..

Where does the earth's atmosphere offically end?
I hear the plane flies like 50+ miles up, which is tremendous, but is that past the earth's atmosphere?
Would there be any way to utilize such power for significantly longer amounts of times, so that it could be used for.. say... spy planes?

btw, how fast did the u-2 fly?

120 or 180 km above the earth.. there starts the space..

And the u-2 really doesnt fly that high and not that fast..

Something like 25000m and 650km/h.

(these are 'close' figures, not the actual max:s.. i just dont have the energy to get me a book and look the actuals..)

You can always pay this site's X-15 page a visit:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Yeah X-15, the rocket-plane...

Read the book: At the Edge of Space: The X-15 Flight Program by Milton O. Thompson.

I read this book a few years back and he talks about what it was like to work in the X-15 program. There is also a table in the back of the book on every flight that was flown and what experiments were performed.

www.stenbergaa.com..." target='_blank' class='tabOff'/>

Originally posted by Bandit
X for eXperiment.

eXperimental-planes.

Learn this and you will be better off..

Yes, I know this. My point is that some people around here refer to classified craft as 'X-Planes'.

Before you correct someone, read what they wrote.

(OIMD says, "I miss college. The people there were actually capable of holding a conversation.")

There was a NOVA episode called The Rocket Pilots, was a very good documentary on the complete evolution of the X-15

A total of 8 X-15 pilots were awarded Astronaut wings when thier missions exceeded 280,000 feet altitude, and the wings no longer generated aerodynamic lift, running on a completely ballistic course at that point.

Peter Knight still holds the official record for high speed with a powered aircraft, at Mach 6.3. During these speed trials, several then-new technologies were tested including various ablative coatings for heat shields. Many of these tests endangered the aircraft and pilot, including have 2 windshields fracture in flight, the entire ventral fin and retro rocket burning off inflight, and numerous other failures that the pilots were lucky to walk away from.

On one landing, the main airframe cracked immediately in front of the fuel tanks, and right behind the cockpit. The piolt had his spine crushed so severely that he actually lost an inch in height.

For my money, the X-15 pilots deserved far more recognition than they did (most of thier research was done with no public recognition or media coverage). These pilots were actually flying into and out of space well before the actual "Space Program" began. Even then, after the new "True" Astronauts were actually flying, and using technology that was forged by the X-15 pilots, these new Astronauts were nothing more than passengers in thier "Spam in a Can" missions, compared to the actual Piloting skills needed by the X-15 pilots.

I read somewhere that one of the X-15 pilots left the program to fly missions in the Vietnam war. I believe he flew F-105s... I also vaguely remember that he may have become a POW.

Here are some Facts on the X-15:

-built by North American Avation division of Rockwell
-Powered by the XRL-99 rocket engine
-reached a speed record of Mach 6.7
-the A2 version flew with a ram jet
-Air launched from a NASA Modified NB-52

I hope that helps some.

Tim

cool, thanks,
anyone got some really hot pics of the x-15?

Do you want more?!

hehe cool
are there any other aircraft which have reached speeds or heights anything like the x-15?

Scramjets, which obtain their oxygen from the atmosphere, are one possible solution to the fuel vs. payload problem. Completed, the X-43 would be the first craft to use such an engine. A working scramjet engine would enable an RLV to attain high speeds while still in the atmosphere, using the atmosphere's oxygen for the reaction. Current launch vehicle engines require the vehicle to carry all of its own oxygen, so a scramjet engine would enable a huge reduction in fuel mass.

Both ramjets and scramjets operate on the same basic principle as a jet. As the plane flies, air flows through the engine and is compressed. Fuel is added to the compressed air and the mixture is ignited. The expanding gases are shaped and directed by the engine's nozzle and propel the plane forward. A jet engine, however, uses fans to compress the air. Ramjets and scramjets rely on the forward motion of the vehicle alone. Ramjets and scramjets can produce no static thrust; the vehicle must already be moving fast enough to compress the air before these engines can operate.

Ramjets are a proven technology, used on the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane. The Blackbird also has normal jet engines, used to accelerate it up to Mach 3, the speed at which its ramjets become operational. The Blackbird can attain top speeds somewhere above Mach 3 and fly very high, above 85,000 feet. If a vehicle wanted to fly faster than the Blackbird, it would have to have a normal jet engine, a ramjet, and a scramjet engine; only a ramjet or a rocket could get the vehicle moving fast enough to light off the scramjet. Ramjets are operational from about Mach 3 to Mach 6; theoretically, scramjets would work from about Mach 6-7 to Mach 10.

For an elegant quickie explanation of how they work, check out the History of Aviation's site on Ramjet and Scramjet Engines. With that in mind, look at the below schematic.

At this point, no craft has successfully flown above Mach 5 with a scramjet. Since a scramjet is such a likely technology for a 2nd or 3rd generation RLV, NASA's X-43 program aims to change that. The X-43 program starts first with three unmanned demonstration flights over the ocean. The small X-43A is attached to a modified Pegasus booster, which is itself carried to 20,000 feet by an airplane. The Pegasus separates from the plane and boosts the X-43A up to 100,000 feet and scramjet speeds. The first two tests were set to take place at Mach 7, and the third at Mach 10. After the engine burns long enough to gather data, the prototypes are scuttled in the ocean.

Unfortunately, the first demo flight failed- the Pegasus and attached X-43A went out of control only a few seconds after separation from the carrier aircraft. (See this June 2001 press release.) The failure was almost certainly a problem with the modified Pegasus booster, and some Pegasus launches have been put on hold until the problem is identified. Hopefully the other two demo flights will proceed as scheduled, providing much useful data.