X-15: Reaching for Space (The X-Plane Series)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.53 (963 Votes) |
| Asin | : | B00CLIH4Q2 |
| Format Type | : | |
| Number of Pages | : | 191 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-02-14 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Going gone The book is an excellent companion to another text on the subject. Given what most of us do not know about the period, it should be required reading.. Good for any aviation buff Geoffrey Heberlein As a follower of the space program and all the X planes this is a good addition to the collection
373 pages, over 130 photos and illustrations, many in full color. The North American X-15 rocket-powered aircraft/spaceplane was part of the X-series of experimental aircraft, initiated with the Bell X-1, that were made for the USAAF/USAF, NACA/NASA, and the USN. Because of the large fuel consumption of its rocket engine, the X-15 was air launched from a B-52 aircraft at about 45,000 ft and speeds upward of 500 mph. This semi-technical summary of the X-15 program is directed toward the less publicized aspects of its achievements. In the early years of our nation's space program, which has been based to a large extent on the unmanned-missile technology that had been developed over the five years prior to Project Mercury, the X-15 has kept in proper perspective the role of the pilot in future manned space programs. All of the people in industry and in government who have had to face the problems of design and of building the hardware and making it work gained experience of great value to the future aeronautical and space endeavors of this country. Behind these milestones of practical flight have been less publicized achievements in scientific research, making such progress possible. In a period of a little more than sixty years since the first flight of the Wright Brothers, the X-15 extended man's exploration of three-dimensiona