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The last airborne attempt to launch an X-15 came on 12 Dec. 1968. Pete Knight was at the controls, but the inertial system malfunctioned creating aborted flight 1-A-142. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
The final attempt at the 200th X-15 flight was on 20 Dec. 1968. Note the snow pouring down on the tarmac, necessitating the enclosure over the X-15 cockpit for protection. Jack Kolf collection |
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The X-15 launch team huddles against the snow on 20 Dec. 1968. Paul Bikle radioed "Somebody's trying to tell us something" and the last X-15 flight attempt was canceled. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
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Six X-15 pilots gather to give their version of "The End." Armstrong Flight Research Center |
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An X-15 delta wing concept model shows the planned follow-on program. Construction of the new wings had begun, before funding was pulled and the project cancelled. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
The X-15 and Space Shuttle side-by-side. Detail of mural by Mike Machat at Edwards. Success of the Shuttle program was attributable to lessons learned on the X-15. photo by Michelle Evans |
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The next step in the evolution of the X-15: Hypersonic delta wings. The loss of X-15 no. 3, which was to have been modified with the new wings, brought the program to a halt. art Thommy Eriksson |
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A computer image of the XB-70 carrying the delta-winged X-15 to launch altitude. author's collection |
Concept for the delta-winged X-15 to be launched from the back of the XB-70. Edwards History Office |
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An advanced conformal scramjet wave-rider concept from North American Aviation. A true follow-on to the X-15. North American Aviation |
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North American Aviation personnel gather to celebrate the completion of the most successful rocket plane program ever accomplished. North American Aviation modified by Michelle Evans |
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Two surviving X-15s at the NASA Flight Research Center prior to leaving for permanent display at the Smithsonian Institution and U.S. Air Force Museum. X-15 no. 1 is in foreground, while the X-15A-2 is shown after removal of the failed ablative coating, sans engine, vertical and horizontal stabilizers, right wing, and all markings. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
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— X-15 no. 1 at the Smithsonian — |
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X-15 no. 1 arrives at the Smithsonian Institution. Note the soaped-up cockpit windows to protect them from scratching during transport. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
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On 10 Jun. 1969 X-15 no. 1 is brought in the entrance to the Arts and Industry building at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Institute |
Crossfield, Engle, Knight, Thompson, Rushworth, McKay, and Dana in Jun. 1969, before the unveiling of X-15 no. 1 to the pubic in the Arts and Industry building. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
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The first 56 years of human flight is encapsulated in one photograph as X-15 no. 1 (1959) is moved into final position for national display at the Smithsonian in June 1969. The Wright Flyer (1903) hangs above, and the Spirit of St. Louis (1927) can be seen behind and above the Mach 6 rocket plane. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
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In October 1972 X-15 no. 1 returned to Edwards while its new home was being prepared at the National Air and Space Museum, which opened on 4 Jul. 1976. NASA Headquarters |
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X-15 no. 1 is prepared for display at the new National Air and Space Museum in 1975. NASA Headquarters |
Inside the cockpit of X-15 no. 1 in the National Air and Space Museum. photo by Michelle Evans |
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X-15 no. 1 as it hung for more than 43 years in the Milestones of Flight Gallery at the National Air and Space Museum between 1976 and 2019. photos by Michelle Evans |
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X-15 no. 1 being lowered to the gallery floor in August 2019 for the first time since 1976, in preparartion for transfer to storage at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. photos by Michelle Evans |
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X-15 no. 1 being moved out of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC on 27 Aug. 2019. It will be stored while the museum is undergoing major refurbishment. Washington Post |
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— X-15A-2 at National Museum of the United States Air Force — |
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X-15A-2 on display with an LR-99 engine at the National Museum of the US Air Force. photo by Michelle Evans |
Extreme close-up of the skin of the X-15A-2 showing an original part number stamp. photo by Michelle Evans |
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X-15A-2 being moved from the museum annex at Wright-Patterson AFB to the new Hangar 4 at the main museum complex. photos by Brad McKinnon |
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X-15A-2 on display in the Hangar 4 Space Gallery at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. photos by Michelle Evans |
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Michelle Evans, author of "The X-15 Rocket Plane, Flying the First Wings into Space" in front of the X-15A-2 on 26 January 2019. photo by Lt. Col. Larry Hammond, USAF |
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— The Last Word From the X-15 Pilots — |
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An X-15 rides into orbit on top of an early Saturn 1 rocket in this flight of fancy. author's collection |
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One of the more outlandish proposals for getting the X-15 into orbit involved mounting it on the nose of a modified Titan rocket. art Thommy Eriksson |
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Concept art of an X-15 attached to the SM-64 Navaho booster for launch into orbit. author's collection |
Space Shuttle Discovery launches on mission STS-121 on 4 Jul. 2006. NASA Kennedy Space Center |
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