The Plane That Accidentally Flew Into Space

[@roykliffen9674]

12:29 "tragically, Joe Walker's illustrious career was cut short in 1966" ... no explanation? He was the pilot of the F-104N "Starfighter" that collided with one of the prototypes of the XB-70 "Valkyrie" while flying in formation during a General Electric promotional shoot, bringing down both aircraft. I would assume that his death was to be as impactful an event in his career as any of his achievements while alive and worth mentioning.

[@charlesharper2357]

This site is bad for stuff like that...

[@truthhurts9241]

Thanks for that mate, I've seen the videos of the XB 70's flights and demise but never knew who the poor pilot was. It was an interesting situation, one of the most dangerous experimental aircraft ever, shadowed by one they called "The Widowmaker".

[@roykliffen9674]

@@truthhurts9241 Ironically Joe Walker objected to that flight beforehand as he considered it dangerous and useless as a PR stunt. He still went up as ordered anyway.

[@truthhurts9241]

@@roykliffen9674 Even more sad than I thought. Wonder if he would have been slated for Apollo.

[@thehark6247]

​@@truthhurts9241Apollo???? there was no apollo. laughable, they steal your cash and give you a fake movie, and fony plot. haaahahaaa, you bought that shit , haaahaaahaa

[@jolaynemichaud4377]

Just my opinion but I find the music horribly distracting. I'd much rather just hear your narration.

[@josephboyce4522]

I kinda like it.

[@notaskirt7210]

I like it Otherwise I would fall asleep lol

[@RRSmurf]

Can't stand the music.

[@Istandby666]

I would rather listen to just the narrator

[@chrisbentleywalkingandrambling]

I thought it period correct but I do agree that I come here for the narration, not the music.

[@christno2]

After seeing the X-15 as a 9 year old in the BBC documentary series "Reaching for the Skies" here in the UK, it was a dream to finally see one at the Smithsonian Museum in D.C a few years ago. Joe Walker, Scott Crossfield, Bill Dana and the rest of the test pilots were absolute pioneers!

[@Mynipplesmychoice]

I’m not enchanted by this story Harry Potter!

[@slavaukraini404]

Neil Armstrong also.

[@TheJaymon1962]

These guys, Armstrong, White, Walker, were my childhood heroes. Crossfield too

[@jamesmorss9940]

You forgot about Kubrick, none of it could happen without him ;)

[@benhudman7911]

We were treated to a visit from Scott Crossfield in the 8th grade, 1978.

[@rpbajb]

Joe Kittinger, too.

[@MarinCipollina]

@@jamesmorss9940 Don't be absurd.

[@phantom0456]

What about Yhuck Cheager?! I’m pretty sure my 2nd grade teacher was giving it up to him…

[@TyroneBrown-mz9qi]

Im glad you have subtitles, you ccant be understood with background noise\music

[@Mainsail333]

The 60'was just an awesome time for aviation

[@bobbyb.1743]

….and automobiles, that began incorporating jet-age sheet metal designs😊

[@growalnuts9880]

The 50s, also. All the great aircraft started then. Wonderful times.

[@JoesPalace]

I miss all those sonic booms I grew up with!

[@j-rocsk]

Then we stalled out. Nothing new has been created in 50 years…

[@2204JCM]

That's because the US government was dumping over %2 of its budget into NASA alone.

[@sharedsailing4787]

What a coincidence, I saw this very aircraft yesterday at the Air Force Museum in Dayton OH. There is another one at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington DC

[@55Ramius]

Love that museum in Dayton, Ohio. I live about 180 miles from it. My Aunt and Uncle lived in Dayton. I have been to the museum maybe 5 times. Be ready for a long day if you go unless you just skim thorugh the place fast. Several hangers with very cool stuff in it. Even a gift shop of cool things. I remember touching the SR71- Blackbird they had on display and looking into one of those big engines on it. Last I went was about 10 yearsa ago and it was free then, not sure about now. Want to take my 2 grown sons there asap because I am 69 and it is hard to walk much.

[@sharedsailing4787]

@@55Ramius it is still free although they accept voluntary donations which gives you a few benefits. They have added a few things over the past few years from what I was told. You should visit again when you get the chance.

[@jimparker7778]

I was a boy in the late 1950s and the X15 was a black plastic model sitting on my desk. I was so proud. My dad worked in aeronautics and space was a family affair. The X15 had its moment in the sun before the Mercury program.

[@lexmedved]

ME TOO, I LIVED IN CANADA THEN, LOVED THAT MODEL...

[@Mynipplesmychoice]

@@lexmedved if it didn’t happen in America, it doesn’t matter. USA! USA! USA!

[@kenhnsy]

I am sure Elon Musk was in diapers laughing at the fools.

[@THOMMGB]

I had one of those black plastic X-15 models as well. For whatever reason, I thought the X-15 was sooo cool. I have no earthly idea what happened to my model. As what happens so often in life is that my Mom probably threw it out when cleaning. Sigh....

[@mottthehoople693]

@@kenhnsy not likely..but certainly laughing like a fool..the jabbering idiot..

[@stevefowler2112]

My Dad was an Engineer (E.E.) with G.E. and was at Redstone with von Braun and the German Engineers in the early 50's and was transferred to The Cape in '56, so I grew up in Cocoa Beach around the space program. I had the X-15 model hanging from my bedroom ceiling as a kid and so wanted to be a fighter/test pilot. I had sky high SAT scores and was a very good athlete so was devastated to learn at ROTC Pilot selection that i was a DQ due to uncorrected vision that was not 20-20. So off to Engineering College I went (Georgia Tech, B.S.C.E., M.S.A.E.) and a 36 year career with America's largest defense contractor's Missile Systems and Aero companies where I just retired in 2018.

[@USNveteran]

I was very fortunate to have served a tour at the Naval Air Test Center at PAX, also worked defense contract there for a few years. Saw some truly amazing stuff from an aviation perspective and met some amazing individuals. Thanks to all now serving, those who have, and those who will in the future. FLY NAVY!!!

[@RedBud315]

These guys were feeling the speed long before the Top Gunners felt the need for it. You can tell by the smiles on the pilots face every time they got out of the aircraft shows how much fun they were having even though this was serious biz.

[@sam1812seal]

I love how easy it is to tell manufacturers apart at that time from their design preferences. Lockheed’s all look like F104s just with different wings and engines, and McDonnell Douglas all have tails that significantly overhang their exhausts

[@StarSurfer55]

I always thought the Boeing DNA ran strong.

[@bloozswami]

In 1954 I lived in a little community (Lake Telemark) in Northern N.J. near a military installation called Picatinny Arsenal. A family friend worked on those engines from Reaction Motors. ALL of the X-Plane engines were tested up there. All that separated our home and that place was two miles of woods. For over twenty years daily roars that would crack windows and stop conversations took place. As kids we sneaked up there many times to check it out. We once ran into spy taking photos up in the woods Fedora hat, long overcoat. That was 1962. We chased after that fella, but, we actually had our bikes with us. He lost us. Great fun. Great history.

[@sibhuskyguy]

i don't know how true it is but (lived in the North Bergen area of nj for 46 of my 50 years) the common folklore is if the munitions stored at Picatinny Arsenal ever happened to detonate, supposedly it would have wiped out a decent portion of the state... that is supposedly how much munitions were stored there...

[@benjipurrincho1474]

All spies with self respect use fedora hats.

[@revel8r413]

The X 15 has always been an unsung hero in my book. I built a model of it when I was in high school and that was my favorite model. Is wonder why we never got back to that program in order to have flying spaceships.

[@zchris87v80]

As an engineer, this would have been a dream to be a part of.

[@k_dawg7475]

as an aviation enthusiast, this would have been a dream to witness with my own eyes

[@Istandby666]

I agree. Imagine the challenges one has to overcome by trial and error. To me, anyone who ever made it to Edwards Air Force Base in their career. Is above the rest. These are the people in the top 1% of their career.

[@zchris87v80]

@@k_dawg7475 I saw the last successful mission of the Columbia launch (STS-109) when I was 15. Shortly before that, an F16 pilot moved in the house behind me. Aviation always piqued my interest. My now-wife and I drove over an hour from a vacation with her family just to view the B17 City of Savannah (along with a B47 trainer), I was able to peek inside "Skunky" (B25) at Owens Field in Columbia, SC, met some surviving Doolittle raiders in 2001, and am finally taking a ride, weather permitting, on B17 "Sentimental Journey" a week from today. Unfortunately Boeing is the only manufacturing opportunity in aviation in my area.

[@brj_han]

@@k_dawg7475 Well, if you're ever on I-70 near Dayton, Ohio, stop in at the National Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson. They have an X-15. And an SR-71, a B1B, a Valkyrie, a B-2... And a Trabant. And they're all real, lol. Probably the best you can do...

[@Rotorhead1651]

​@@Istandby666 By your definition I guess that would include my father, who use to work for Long Island based, defense avionics manufacturer Airborne Instruments Laboratories (A.I.L.). He spent a lot of time at Edwards and Vandenberg, working on projects like the the defensive avionics for the B-1A.

[@Jon-es-i6o]

Thank you DS. The X-15 is one of my all time favourite aircraft. It can travel at over 6,629 ft. per second. That’s truly astonishing. Too avoid melting under high temperatures, the canopy glass had to be manufactured from quartz and gold. Manufactured by North America Aviation the X-15, and the General Dynamics F-16 imo share similarities (single engine/fuselage shape/short stubby wings) in their design. Neil Armstrong flew the X-15, he pitched the nose of his X-15 too high bouncing it off the edge of the atmosphere, as a result he overshot the runway at Edwards AF base, landing short. He was fortunate to walk away alive as the flight of an X-15 released from a B-52 to landing, lasted a mere 6 minutes. After fuel’s expended an X-15 is manually glided back to Earth. Tricky, as without propulsion the X-15s flight characteristics resemble that of a rock.🤭

[@kc5402]

If you overshoot a runway, you land *long* not short.

[@prophetsnake]

It has nearly zero to do with the F 16.

[@darkzeus851]

Music is incredibly annoying

[@Rotorhead1651]

Here's what everyone else is hearing: "WAAAAAAAHHHH!!"

[@nicmainville9954]

Cope

[@phantom0456]

HATE! HATE! HATE! HATE!

[@stevedunch581]

His voice isn’t all that great either

[@MichaelWinter-ss6lx]

Then dont watch. Music is definitely the best part of this film! 🚀🏴‍☠️🎸

[@RichardFraser-y9t]

You really need that pressure suit? Oh, yes.

[@christopherblack3102]

It’s interesting that these flights lasted less than 15 minutes and covered about 300 miles after being launched from the B-52. So think about launching from a B-52, accelerating to Mach 6 and climbing to the edge of space, than landing at Edwards AFB 11 minutes later. It all happened very quickly.

[@Mr.SharkTooth-zc8rm]

My good sir, your videos do NOT need a music background. Otherwise this was very good. All of these men had The Right Stuff!

[@lynnabel258]

I worked with an engineer in the 1970's who was on the X-15 program in the 1950's. He told me that they were designing it to go into space until Sputnik was sent into orbit and the project was scrapped in favor of the 'Roman candle' approach that put Echo into space.

[@GregWampler-xm8hv]

Actually they were going to design and develop the X-20 Dino-Soar (?) which was a clear outgrowth of the X-15.

[@kc5402]

The X-15 DID go into space. But it could never have achieved orbit. Not fast enough.

[@prophetsnake]

He was wrong.

[@x15galmichelleevans]

I need to set the record straight here. The very first sentence in your narration is incorrect. On 22 August 1963, Joe Walker set the official altitude record for the X-15 program at 354,200 feet (67.1 miles). The altitude record was the purpose of the flight that day. However the speed you mentioned is completely wrong. On that flight Walker topped out his speed at Mach 5.58 or 3,794 mph, 726 mph slower than what you have stated. The speed record of Mach 6.70 or 4,520 mph was set on 3 October 1967 by Pete Knight, and remains the fastest speed a manned aircraft has ever flown. These are two different flights, by two different pilots, and accomplished on two different aircraft. Walker's flight was done using X-15 no. 3, while Knight's flight was using the X-15A-2.

[@x15galmichelleevans]

There are so many things wrong on this video, that it is hard to watch, but I watched it all anyway, just see how bad it got. The idea that every flight could end in a fireball, that Walker didn't know what he was in for that day, the "fact" that NASA was trying to save his life by keeping the altitude below 400,000 feet, the statement that the X-15 might inadvertently fly into orbit, and on and on. Every one of these comments is laughable. Even the number of flights accomplished by Walker is incorrect. This mission was Walker's 25th in the X-15, not his 23rd. It was also Walker's final flight in the program. Let's go on with more: Walker did not fly the first mission with the XLR-99 rocket engine on 15 November 1960. That mission was flown by Scott Crossfield. Walker didn't fly with the LR-99 engine until 30 March 1961. The 3rd X-15 flight was not flown by Neil Armstrong in December 1961. Neil's first flight was on 30 November 1960, and was the 29th flight in the X-15 program. Neil did fly the first mission on X-15 no. 3 on 20 December 1961. The recognized altitude in the United States for spaceflight is 50 miles, not 62 miles. Eight of the twelve X-15 pilots achieved spaceflights (not the 6 you mention in your video), and were all awarded astronaut wings for their accomplishments. There were 13 astronaut qualification flights in total out of the 199 X-15 flights. There were only 2 flights above the arbitrary Karman line, and those were both accomplished by Joe Walker, so you saying that six X-15 pilots became astronauts is against your earlier narrative about the need to cross the 100 kilometer mark. Walker did not fear for his life on the 22 August 1963 mission. He was well within mission parameters, and there was nothing that precluded the X-15 from making a safe reentry from 400,00 feet. Estimates placed the ultimate ceiling on the X-15 at approximately 430K feet. Lots of other quibbles about what you state in the video, but these are the major points that needed to be highlighted, and should be corrected.

[@shaunwalker813]

Bet you're fun at parties.

[@x15galmichelleevans]

@@shaunwalker813 Yep, sure am. Most people I know like to know the truth about things. I would hope that would be the same with most everyone.

[@djmastergroove946]

​@@x15galmichelleevans I always thought it was Neil Armstrong who was the first one to cross into space in the X15. And had trouble coming back through the atmosphere? Is this completely wrong?

[@x15galmichelleevans]

@@djmastergroove946 Neil actually did not fly into space at all when he was piloting the X-15. His highest altitude was 207,500 feet (39.3 miles), well below the 264.000 feet (50 miles) needed to receive his astronaut wings. That flight occurred on 20 April 1962, and was also the mission where he had trouble on reentry as he skipped back up out of the atmosphere. He did that because he was only paying attention to his g-meter and not anything else that was happening in the cockpit. Paul Bikle nearly fired him after that flight, and led to Neil's departure from the program. This was the flight depicted in the opening sequence of the movie "First Man." In that movie they got so many things wrong about this flight, and pretty much everything else as well, that I won't even get started. And I say that even though I was a technical consultant on the film. I was extremely disappointed in how that movie turned out. The first pilot to enter space on the X-15 program was Robert White. His flight on 17 July 1962 achieved an altitude of 314,750 feet (59.6 miles). Not only was this the first astronaut qualification flight, but was also the first time a manned aircraft exceeded 300,000 feet in altitude. The following day, White, along with fellow X-15 pilots Scott Crossfield, Joe Walker, and Forrest Petersen, received the Collier Trophy in Washington DC from President Kennedy for their achievements on the X-15.

[@daystatesniper01]

Dark at last producing videos that we come to expect thank you

[@benhudman7911]

Outstanding work on this film.

[@x15galmichelleevans]

Just be aware that many of the things said in this video are misleading or simply wrong.

[@BionicRusty]

Awesome video and a great story. 👍

[@garykreutzer1239]

I was the eight year old son of a WWII vet still in the Air Force. He had served with several of the grown crew on various planes over the years, starting with crew chief of too many B-29s, 20+ years ago. He knew Lt.Ed White when he was teaching gunnery to yound pilots. He was in charge of the ramp whenever there were aircraft on it. He was attahed to the Tow Target Squadron and maintained Sabers.

[@ronshumway1]

Great channel topics. Appreciate the research that goes into these videos, and the work of editing, producing and posting. Only wish the music detracted less. I'd watch more.

[@agronopoulus]

Thank you for the great video! Outstanding!

[@kalebj7001]

Well it pioneered its way into new horizons

[@robertyeats-un7qb]

I totally agree with the comment about the music track .

[@SamuelHeald-u5v]

The X-15 was the boss. I remember it flying over our house. And the sonic boom got our attention every day

[@brucec2635]

I loved finding out every bit of information I could about the X15 in the early to mid sixties. Simply amazing to a teenage boy.

[@williamrae9954]

Just 15yrs after WW2...Germans have to be some credit here,without them,it wouldn't have happened!

[@robderich8533]

Like the line in that movie named 'Ice Station Zebra' from 1968 : "The Russians put our camera made by *our* German scientists and your film made by *your* German scientists into their satellite made by *their* German scientists."

[@GregWampler-xm8hv]

Von Braun stole 100's of Robert Goddard's patents. FYI little Miss clean and starched skirts von Braun turned out to be far more of an evil NAZI than we were led to believe.

[@TheInstructor66]

Funny to think that the car’s we see in this video had not envolved much technically since the Wright brothers first fligth. But the X-15 on the other hand… Great video. 👌🏻

[@bsmith4u2]

These were all some very brave and unbelievably skilled men, piloting a giant missle with a seat and cockpit attached. I was so glad to see the civilian pilots also receive their astronaut wings in 2005.

[@chrisholds1]

Good video & very nice selection of flight footage.

[@arborlawns]

I love the music , I think it adds a nice touch to the video and keeps people stimulated-Attention.

[@Oldag75]

In Tom Wolfe's book "The Right Stuff," the X-15 was called the "flying brick."

[@oldguy7402]

As a kid of the 50s, I was fascinated with the X15

[@michaelzivanovich2061]

I believe that this gentleman was the F-104 pilot killed in the infamous collision with the B-70 during a General Electric promo video..

[@WhiteJarrah]

2:01 The Mercury 7 astronauts were never tasked with flying the X-15. Joe Engle and Neil Armstrong were both selected for later generations of NASA astronauts after their X-15 flights though.

[@RandallSoong-pp7ih]

Beautiful Beast

[@robertbihn3005]

I had an X-15 model hanging over my bed, thought it was so cool, and it was

[@bobbybob3865]

NASA always said they didn't have a particular man picked to be first on the moon, but Gus Grissom would probably have been the one if he hadn't been killed in that space capsule fire that happened during a test on Earth.

[@jonlanier_]

Truly the first man who went to space.

[@Istandby666]

From 1984 to 1992, I grew up in the Mojave desert near Edwards Air Force Base. Thanks to our biological father being part of the Above Top Secret programs back then. When one looks at the history of Edwards Air Force Base. Who wouldn't be proud to grow up around some of the greatest people on earth?

[@RedBud315]

I grew up in the L.A. area but, raced my motorcycle at Willow Springs the opposite direction from Hwy 14 than the base in the 80's. Also back then whenever they had to do an alternate Space Shuttle landing at the base we would head out there to hopefully see it. We never did see it though so it ended up being a long road trip, lol. We used to also go shooting at one of the ranges on Angeles Forest Hwy and one time an Air Force cargo plane surprised the hell out of us by flying low through the canyon right over our heads. We joked about immediately pointing the rifles down so they don't send the bombers next. We figured that plane came from Edwards. I have some friends who live across the highway from Saddleback Butte State park just south of the base now.

[@MarkHonea-dx6mv]

'X-15' is the memory most strongly embedded in my memory, as a 6 yo boy being given military/scientific announcements( there to increse my interest). The X15. Probably the first tech memory installed in my head by the military- industrialist- national news conglomerate . A proud moment, im sure😂😅

[@dongorney2533]

I grew up in Palmdale California, near Air Force Plant 42. I remember seeing the first unpowered flight from my driveway.

[@bbb8182]

As a boy I was fascinated by and proud of this American venture. I wish you had covered the fastest flight here. Photos afterwards showed burned off and melted titanium parts. Much of the surfaces were burned a bright chalky white. The pilot was lucky to be alive.

[@x15galmichelleevans]

The fastest flight of the X-15 occurred on 3 October 1967, and was flown in the X-15A-2 by pilot Pete Knight. He reached a speed of Mach 6.70, or 4,520 mph. The aircraft was covered in an ablative coating which was in-turn sealed by a white paint layer. The white was not from burning. Also, the X-15's skin was a nickle alloy steel called Inconel-X, not titanium. Titanium, such as was used on the SR-71, would have melted at temperatures half what were encountered by the X-15 in flight.

[@armadillotoe]

News about the X15 was inspiring for a young boy who built model airplanes.

[@JohnFarrell-jo2sw]

These guys were true bad asses the best of the best

[@mikekannely2286]

I built a model of the X-15 when I was a kid in the early 1970's. My dad told me that this was the first vehicle in which an American touched space. The model was horrible (I was about 8 yo), but the memory of it is priceless...

[@larrydugan1441]

Those guys had guts.

[@tomdarco2223]

Right On Great Video

[@maureencora1]

1960s as a Kid I Had X-15 Dress Shoes From Sears. (smile)

[@nautilus269]

The music was a tiny bit off putting. But what I couldn't keep up with was the muffled speech at the pace it was spoken at. All 3 of these factors meant that I was only just able to keep up with what was being said at times.

[@brettscott7770]

Great vid!

[@sardaukerlegion]

Skills, nerves and °° of Steel.

[@tashuntka]

Man...... you have to listen to a lot of complaining... Thanks... I like all your work 👍🏻😁👍🏻🫶

[@x15galmichelleevans]

There is good reason to complain when what the narrator states is factually incorrect.

[@Twobarpsi]

Unbelievable!! Excellent video!

[@rmx4087]

I had no clue the X-15 had attitude control rockets like a spacecraft.

[@x15galmichelleevans]

The reaction control system rockets were necessary for the flights when the X-15 was outside the Earth's atmosphere.

[@Edgyshortsguy]

Turn of the music

[@donwilson1307]

The X-51 was actually the 1st shuttle. While it didn't go into orbit, it rocketed( in this case), into space and every time it came back for landing, it landed dead stick( no running engine).

[@James-zp5po]

This craft did not go to space sry

[@x15galmichelleevans]

@@James-zp5po The X-15 went into space 13 times, and created 8 new American astronauts out of the 12 pilots who flew the vehicle from 1959 through 1968.

[@James-zp5po]

@@x15galmichelleevans sry the x 15 has never been to space you are just repeating what you heard someone else say you really need to learn to do your own thinking technically it is called critical thinking

[@x15galmichelleevans]

​​ @James-zp5po What I stated is 100 percent correct, no matter what you might want to believe. The embarkation altitude for spaceflight in the United States is officially set at 50 miles--and always has been for the last 65 years. The X-15 exceeded 50 miles in altitude on 13 occasions. Five US Air Force officers who flew the X-15 received their astronaut wings from the Department of the Air Force. Three NASA pilots also received astronaut wings from NASA. This makes a total of 8 of the 12 X-15 pilots having achieved astronaut status, and officially receiving astronaut wings for their accomplishments. As for getting my information second-hand, sorry to tell you, but I got my information first-hand directly from the USAF, NASA, and the pilots and managers involved in the X-15 program. I literally wrote the book on the X-15, so I will have to believe that my knowledge of this program and its accomplishments are things that I can speak of with confidence and authority.

[@James-zp5po]

@@x15galmichelleevans next year it will be 5 miles and then 4 and then 3 of on your authority so stay dry

[@markoaks8694]

The video at 10:19 is an F-4E . It is NOT the X-15. You can plainly see the right wing fold, the twin engines, the anhedral horizontal stabilizer, the vertical stabilizer, the deployed landing gear, and the nose gun shroud. I was an F-4E crew chief in the USAF. It looks like the crew is dumping fuel. The fuel dump opening is just below the vertical stab.

[@dutchman7216]

Very cool, wonderful aircraft.

[@darthnihilus511]

Fun fact; You can now pick up a used X-15 for around 15k, some still have the suit with it. I have on in candy apple red, the convertible of course. You have to rent the B-52 though 😢

[@donaldharrison8281]

When America was great again...🗽🇺🇸✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️

[@Mynipplesmychoice]

We build better crap now , stop looking at the past with rose colored glasses you boomer!!!!!

[@iandibley8032]

Amazing, those test pilots must have had big balls!!

[@SimonAmazingClarke]

250,000 feet was classed as space by America and the US Air Force, that is why they got their Astronaut wings. The Karmen line was only acknowledged in 2005 as 100 km. The original Karman line was only 83 km.

[@JuricksEnterprise]

I really don't agree with the title of this clip. The X-15 was intended to fly up to the ends of the atmosphere into near outer space, which is why it utilized react thrusters at the top of it's flight for stabilization, because conventional flaps would be useless. Also, I believe that all X-15 pilots were eventually granted the rating of "Astronaut" on their records for their flights in the aircraft because of the altitudes achieved. Please correct if I am wrong, this is my understanding from the documentaries I have seen.

[@x15galmichelleevans]

The X-15 flew a total of 199 missions over its 9 year life. Of those, 13 missions were classified as spaceflight, and those were flown by 8 or the 12 X-15 pilots. Those 8 pilots all received astronaut wings from the Air Force and NASA for their achievements, although it took NASA until 2005 to finally recognize their own pilots in that way. The 5 Air Force pilots all received their astronaut wings at the time the flights occurred in the 1960s, although one of those was a posthumous presentation since Michael Adams lost his life in the only fatal X-15 accident of the program on 15 November 1967.

[@lancraft]

How can you say his career was cut short without mentioning the specifics of the accident with the Valkyrie??? It’s only one more sentence.

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

I wonder what g-loading was achieved at full thrust.

[@zh84]

I don't know, but in a documentary I watched about the X-15 one of the pilots said that the acceleration at full thrust was severely painful.

[@x15galmichelleevans]

The maximum gs on an X-15 pilot ranged to approximately 5gs, and that was usually achieved during re-entry. During powered flight,m the g loading was around 4gs.

[@zh84]

@@x15galmichelleevans And with a user name like that I believe you've studied this a lot ;-)

[@x15galmichelleevans]

@@zh84 Yes, I have definitely done that. I spent 30 years researching the X-15 program, along with interviewing the pilots, managers, flight planners, mechanics, etc. from the program. From that I was able to write my book on the X-15 entitled "The X-15 Rocket Plane, Flying the First Wings into Space." It was an honor to be able to give voice to the people who made this amazing program a reality.

[@autobahnmensch]

Such a notable lack of DEI hires.

[@dwilson284]

You’re one of god’s special people. Bless your heart for being brainless.

[@alexbowman7582]

Planes cannot “fly” into space, there is no air to provide lift, a jet engine may propel them into space but re-entry would be extremely hazardous, the wrong entry angle and they’ll burn up.

[@DSNSGaming]

It was a rocket engine. Not a jet engine. It also had an RCS system for maneuvering when the control surfaces are less effective.

[@MattNolanCustom]

Re-entry burning is not an issue of reaching "space", but of speed. Craft returning from actual orbit, or from the Moon are at several times the speed of the fastest X-15. The X-15 were essentially ballistic in their "space" excursions so I don't think they would come down any faster than they went up. If they didn't burn up on the way out, they wouldn't burn up on the way back in either.

[@c-w-h]

Fuel tanker ops: No one is looking. Just a little bit more and its space time for this space cowboy. 👨‍🚀

[@SlowlySailing-lc1cs]

Awe-inspiring, but remember: Gagarin became the first man to not only enter space, but to orbit the Earth, in 1961.

[@m783w]

“Accidentally” the pilot had a side quest

[@davidwilliams9302]

Some incredible science came from this program. Eventually, North American Aviation got wrapped into Rockwell. Rockwell used material science discoveries from the X-15 for the Space Shuttle. Not the most exciting things, but important. Stuff like windows that don't melt (!!!) Or actually industrial application of alloys like Inconel.

[@frankgrillo8094]

Looks like Fireball XL5

[@docalexander2853]

It was a small engine. About 5’ long and a foot in diameter. See it at Boron, NV

[@RaySmith1662]

The Horizon is FLAT and it's easy to see in that documentary (ex: 11m.31s...) ... i'm a pilot too and my father was in the RCAF in the time of The Avro CF-105 Arrow... many things people don't know!!!

[@SteveMorrison-m8b]

RIP Joe Engle - With Engle's death, all 12 pilots to fly the X-15 are now deceased.

[@leonardgilbreath9004]

I remember watching a movie about this with Charles Bronson they haven't shown it in a long time if it's comes out watch it's a great movie.

[@x15galmichelleevans]

The movie "X-15" starring David McLean, Charles Bronson, and Mary Tyler Moore, was released in November 1961. It was finally released on DVD and is also currently available on KZbin.

[@deanbuss1678]

This is sooo cool!

[@jason60chev]

Did he apply for the Mercury program or the New Nine or any other Space group?

[@x15galmichelleevans]

No, Joe Walker never applied to the NASA Astronaut Office. Two X-15 pilots, Neil Armstrong and Joe Engle both eventually applied, and were accepted as astronaut candidates by NASA.. Neil eventually flew two missions into space on Gemini 8 and Apollo 11, while Joe Engle flew two missions of the Space Shuttle as Commander of both STS-2 and STS-51I. Joe also flew 3 spaceflights on the X-15 prior to applying to NASA.

[@alzeNL]

Not usually a fan of music on videos, but there was some slick riffs on this very cool video. Great upload :)

[@mcallian]

The music is REALLY annoying. Distracts from a very good narration.

[@anthonydilligaf823]

I was enjoying it, and wondered where it came from..

[@larrymondello8475]

Thank you 😮😮

[@ChetJang]

I find it interesting that Chuck Yeager never flew an X15 but did pilot a B52 "Mother ship" during one of the X15 flights. Scott Crossfield, a contemporary and rival of Yeager's, did fly X15s, though. I can find no reasons why Yeager didn't fly the X15 even though he flew practically everything else. I suspect it was because he wasn't a college graduate. Scott Crossfield was a Graduate of the University of WA, in Seattle, with a BS and Masters in Aeronautical engineering. Yeager became the first commandant of the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School, which produced astronauts for NASA and the USAF, after its redesignation from the USAF Flight Test Pilot School. He had only a high school education, so he was not eligible to become an astronaut like those he trained.

[@Open3Eyes]

Turn the background music down my guy

[@Gordon705]

An additional reason a pressurized space suit was needed was the cabin was filled with nitrogen or helium to prevent in cabin fires.

[@BenjaminHarness-j2k]

❤❤❤x-33❤❤❤❤❤ NASA

[@grim3897]

Walker remarkably looks like the guy in the Helldivers 2 cutscenes!

[@davy1629]

so why haven't they picked up from where they left off in the 60s with this very unique aircraft? this have the true potential to get people into space without having to do a full launch at a NASA station

[@darryldouglas6004]

2:12 Who would have thought that test pilot bod is the same as dad bod? 😃

[@zyme5998]

...Was the first episode of the original Quantum Leep with Scott Bakula based off of this?

[@x15galmichelleevans]

The pilot for Quantum Leap involved Bakula's character leaping into a pilot of the X-2 rather than the X-15. It was a fictionalized version of the fatal Mel Apt flight, which was the first to achieve Mach 3.

[@c0ff3ee]

WHY DOES BRO SOUND LIKE THOSE COMIC CARTOONS 😭

[@standupamerica5707]

The first step was Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier in the old Bell aircraft, or there would have never been an X15.

[@stevenkovler5133]

I remember seeing a “B” horror movie where an X15 pilot got to close to space. He got coated in space dust and came back a monster and was attacking people … lol

[@benschouten3777]

What’s accidental for a plane that was designed to cross the border of Space…