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There have been countless aircraft capable of flying faster than the speed of sound. Some have
reached twice that, and a few as high as three times the speed of sound. But there is one rocket plane
to rule them all. An aircraft that was introduced in 1959, flew so high that it gave its pilots
astronautical status. It reached altitudes higher than 100 kilometers, speeds higher than mach 6(!) and
gathered extremely important data for future aviation and spacecraft projects. It was a flying rocket. It
was the North American X-15.
In fact, the blunt end at the rear of the X-15 could produce as much drag as an entire F104 Starfighter.
Rear view of the X-15 showing the Reaction Motors Inc XLR99
engine.
The engine used was a Reaction Motors Inc XLR99, producing 2502 kN of thrust. To get these high
amounts of thrust, it burnt anhydrous ammonia and liquid oxygen. It also used hydrogen peroxide,
which pushed the propellants into the engine. The engine had an astonishing capability to burn fuel. In
just 80 seconds it could burn as much as 6.8 tons of propellant.
It set a number of records during its operational time between 1959 and 1968. Some of them are listed
here:
The fastest manned and air breathing plane in the world SR-71
Are we going back to the cold war? Read about it here.
Read about the U-2 Dragonlady, one of the most important US reconnaissance aircraft
ever here!
Learn about naval ship designations and their meanings here.
Sources:
Thecharterstore.com
Aerospaceweb.org
Hq.nasa.gov
Air-and-space.com