Hypersonic: The Story of the North American X-15 [Illustrated] (Hardcover)

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Amazon.co.uk Review
The term "rocket plane" now conjures images from vintage pulp sci-fi. But in a programme that began years before Gagarin and Shepard launched the space race, NASA's X-15 research vehicle ambitiously arched towards the fringes of space, expanding the speed-and-altitude envelope of manned flight like none before it. In the course of a 199 flights over a decade, the X-15 became the first manned aircraft to rocket past Mach 4, 5 and 6; soared some 67 miles above the Earth (earning a handful of its dozen pilots their Astronaut wings, though ironically not Neil Armstrong, later first to set foot on the Moon); and crucially gathered the cornerstone data that enabled the Space Shuttle's return from space a couple decades later. Authors/historians/archivists Dennis Jenkins and Tony Landis have produced nothing short of a landmark history of the X-15's pioneering effort, which, they argue, was the most productive flight-test programme ever)--the first truly comprehensive chronicle of every phase of its pre-history, development and often perilous journeys (USAF pilot Mike Adams was killed on one of the craft's final flights, while several others suffered injuries in mishaps). Fueled by an obvious passion for their subject, the authors skillfully boil a daunting body of history, technical data and personalities down into an eminently accessible chronicle of technical achievement and human bravery. In doing so they've drawn on a wealth of documentary materials and interviews from pilots, NASA and USAF sources and key personnel from North American Aviation, the X-15's manufacturer. Pilots Scott Crossfield and Bill Dana (the first and last to fly the spaceplane, respectively) have also contributed written introductions. --Jerry McCulley, Amazon.com

Synopsis
The X-15 is the only vehicle so far that has been flown by a pilot (rather than a computer) into space and back, routinely surviving re-entry temperatures. The X-15 was also the fastest airplane ever built, over twice as fast as the SR-71 Blackbird! It was also the highest-flying aircraft ever to take to the skies, in it five Air Force pilots became astronauts taking the X-15 into near-space. Nineteen years before the Space Shuttle, the small, black, rocket-powered, bullet-shaped X-15 showed it was possible to fly into and out of space. There had never been anything like the X-15; it had a million-horsepower engine and could fly twice as fast as a rifle bullet. The X-15 set records that stood for years. Hypersonic is the most extensively researched history of the X-15 programme yet produced. Written with the co-operation of surviving X-15 pilots as well as many other programme principals it is based on six years of research in Air Force, NASA, and North American archives. The book describes the flight programme in detail,. This includes the most authoritative flight log ever assembled; derived from the original flight data recordings.

The book also describes each of the experiments that were flown aboard the X-15 late in its career when it became the workhorse of the space programme, carrying such things as startrackers destined for the Apollo programme and missile detection systems that would later be sent into orbit on satellites.

4 Reviews 5 star:  (4) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   5 of 5 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Book on the X-15, 4 Jul 2003 By A Customer The X-15 was the ultimate research program during the 1950s and 1960s. The airplane was sleek and fast, and the pilots that flew it (including Neil Armstrong) all had the "right stuff." This book covers the development of the airplane and its technology in amazing detail. It also covers the carrier airplane (a B-52), setting up the radar sites to track the X-15, and all of the lakebeds that were used for landing sites. It also provides some interesting insights into the personalities involved. The authors obviously had cooperation from many of the participants in the program since th einformation would not be obtainable in any other way. This is at least partially confirmed by the fact that Scott Crossfield (the first pilot) and Bill Dana (the last pilot) wrote forewords for the book. This book is recommended without reservation. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Hypersonic: The Story of the North American X-15, 30 Jul 2004 By  MR A D BROWN (UK) - See all my reviews I'll keep it short and sweet. I buy lots of aviation literature and ordinarily I like to see a book before buying it. Nevertheless, I ordered this book along with the X-15 Scrapbook (by the same authors) at a combined cost that I felt would be tolerable even if the books turned out to be rubbish. In actual fact my pessimism was totally unfounded as both books and particularly 'Hypersonic....' massively exceeded my expectation. The book is beautifully printed and bound, and the content is detailed, well-researched and logically presented; quite frankly I haven't put it down for the past 2 days. If you've a spare £20 buy this book. If you've a spare £30, buy both books, you won't regret it! Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   5.0 out of 5 stars Superb detail, 11 Jul 2009 By  D. Williams - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: Hypersonic: The Story of the North American X-15 (Specialty Press) (Paperback) Probably the definitive work onthis plan. I was left sentimental for the 'can do' attitude of the era... Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 4 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive all-in-one project book on the X-15 This is an excellent book. Crammed full of detail, science, history, artwork and photography, all joined seamlessly together by the objective and documentary voice of Dennis... Read more Published 7 months ago by Alan P Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 4 customer reviews...

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