X-15...you gotta love this one!

[Mr. Bones]

the X-15 is called the most successful X-plane ever built. three were made, one crashed but was rebuilt. it was used to fly high and fast! the max speed (which was a record) was Mach6.7. it was the first machine controlled by a human and not a pc or autopilot that went into space and returned safely. i'm not sure, but i thought it went up to 120 000ft. it was carried under a B-52B (the same plane that's still in use today...but NASA has plans to replace it with an H-model) to 40 000ft. from that altitude it climbed to higher altitudes with a rocket engine. the pilots steered in the thin atmosphere with twelve hydrogen peroxide jets.

now my question: is FL1200 space? and if yes, did it really went into space and returned back into our atmosphere like the space shuttle does nowadays?

here's a photo of it taken during landing at Rogers Dry Lake (Edwards AFB). note the special landing gear...


here it is flying at extremely high altitudes:


if you have any interesting information/facts about this plane, please post it here. i want to learn every detail about it.  ;)

[Rifleman]

Try this place for starters,............

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-15

........then go to Dryden Flight Research Center and see if there is any info there about the X-15..........

BTW, I have seen and touched a real one at the Airforce Museum at Dayton Ohio...

[Mr. Bones]

BTW, I have seen and touched a real one at the Airforce Museum at Dayton Ohio...

the one with the scramjet? i thought that museum had a 'no touch' policy!  ;)

[Rifleman]

Actually when I was there, I was with a group flying large models from the runway of Wright-Patterson and when we all went over to the museum after our day was done flyin, they agreed to give us a couple of hours of free time, after closing time in the museum and disregard the ropes as long as we showed the respect the place deserved, as we all would know since we have a diplayed love of aviation with our hobby..........what a fantastic time....open cockpit F-117, X-3 on the floor, X-15 on the floor to drool over....well, you know, just too many to mention.....Oh did I mention the XB-70, the B-36 with Goblin parasite fighter ?.... the fuselage section from Bock's Car ?.....

What a time ! ! !

[Jared]

Wow! Someone's jealous! :-)

[Ivan]

The X-15 was limited in height by it's systems... stuff began to fail if they went above certain altitudes

[Mr. Bones]

i've found a really good video...good quality for that time! it's less than 2mb, so if you want it, just pm me your e-mail and you'll find it in your mailbox  ;)

[Rifleman]

The X-15 was limited in height by it's systems... stuff began to fail if they went above certain altitudes

I think you're right......it ran out of fuel......fuel system fails when empty

[Mr. Bones]

FL3500?!  :o man that's high!

[Dan]

Cool.... Would love to see a real XF85...
Dan

[OTTOL]

now my question: is FL1200 space? and if yes, did it really went into space and returned back into our atmosphere like the space shuttle does nowadays?

Where does space begin?
There is no clear boundary because the atmosphere gradually thins the higher you go.
The lowest artificial satellites can orbit at about 160km (100 miles) above the Earth - but even at this height traces of the atmosphere we breathe are enough to slow them down.


Other orbits:
Space shuttle - 300 km (185 miles)
International Space Station 350 km (220 miles)
Passenger aircraft - 9 km (6 miles)

As the atmosphere has no abrupt cut-off, but rather thins gradually with increasing altitude, there is no definite boundary between the atmosphere and outer space. 75% of the atmosphere exists within 11 km of the planetary surface. In the United States, persons who travel above an altitude of 50 miles (80 kilometres) are designated as astronauts. 400,000 feet (75 miles or 120 kilometres) marks the boundary where atmospheric effects become noticeable during re-entry. The altitude of 100 kilometres or 62 miles is also frequently used as the boundary between atmosphere and space.

[Ivan]

X-prize says 100km