Questions tagged [x-15]

Use for the North American X-15 rocket-powered airplane (only within the atmosphere).

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33 votes
4 answers
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Why was the skid landing gear located so far aft on the X-15?

The X-15 famously used a pair of steel skids as the main landing gear rather than conventional wheels, which saved weight, allowed the skids to be mounted externally (where wheels and tires would have ...
CameronSS's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
299 views

Did every X-15 pilot become weightless when flying into the upper strato- and mesosphere?

The North American X-15 was aimed at breaking airspeed and altitude records. The flights that sought to achieve new airspeed records (Mach 5+) were rather leveled but the flights into the upper ...
Greenhorn's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
640 views

Did the X-15 ever conduct a point-to-point flight?

The North American X-15 rocketplane flew at up to Mach 7 and at very high altitudes, it was also capable of spaceflight but these were quite steep parabolic patterns. At Mach 7 it flew leveled and my ...
Giovanni's user avatar
34 votes
2 answers
3k views

How is altitude reached by aircraft flying above the stratosphere measured?

Aircraft flying above the stratosphere (above 30km) are rare, but there is still the X-15 and the spaceship two. For those aircraft, maximal altitude is measured to within 500 ft. As described in this ...
Manu H's user avatar
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33 votes
5 answers
10k views

Why Didn't the USSR Build An X-15?

In the history of aerospace engineering in the United States, the X-15 is lauded as a critical and necessary step on the path to manned spaceflight. Throttle-able chemical rocket propulsion systems, ...
Bryson S.'s user avatar
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