Notably, it highlights the unique design features of the X15, including its Inconel X steel skin to withstand extreme temperatures and a powerful rocket engine. Pilots like Joe Engel contributed ...

The X-15 rocket-plane built by North American Aviation ... With a pilot in its cramped cockpit, it will be carried 35,000 ft. above Wendover Air Force Base, Utah by a specially adapted B-52.

The X-15 was a groundbreaking rocket-powered aircraft that set records still unbeaten today—including the fastest crewed flight at Mach 6.7. Designed to gather data for NASA’s space ambitions ...

Still the fastest airplane ever flown, the North American X-15 earned its title 40 years ago, when on October 3, 1967 Air Force Major William “Pete” Knight flew the rocket-powered aircraft to ...