Items related to At the Edge of Space: The X-15 Flight Program
Synopsis
In At the Edge of Space, Milton O. Thompson, a pilot active in the X-15 program from beginning to end, tells the dramatic story of one of the most successful research aircraft ever flown.
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About the Author
Milton O. Thompson (1926-1993) was chief engineer at the NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility in Edwards, California.
From Publishers Weekly
Initiated in the 1950s, the X-15 program tested a unique rocket-powered aircraft at supersonic speeds in the atmosphere's outer limits. The stubby-winged, needle-nosed craft achieved speeds of 4000 mph, could fly at altitudes of well over 200,000 feet and yielded data crucial to NASA's space missions. Thomson, one of the test pilots, traces the technical developments of the program, emphasizing the viewpoint of the men who (barely) controlled the unpredictable plane in the air. He demonstrates through a series of vivid anecdotes the effect of g forces, extreme vertigo and other mental and physical problems associated with supersonic flight. Thompson includes accounts of hair-raising emergency rescues and a somber description of the death of one of his colleagues during a 1967 test flight. Retired in 1968 along with the program itself, the X-15 now hangs in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. Surprisingly, it is still the world's fastest airplane. Thompson's well-written history of the program captures the technical challenges, the camaraderie and, most of all, the high adventure of X-15 flight. Highly recommended. Photos.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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- PublisherSmithsonian Inst Pr
- Publication date1992
- ISBN 10 1560981075
- ISBN 13 9781560981077
- BindingHardcover
- LanguageEnglish
- Number of pages392
- Rating
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At the Edge of Space : The X-15 Flight Program
Published by
Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC, 1992
ISBN 10: 1560981075
ISBN 13: 9781560981077
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Hard Cover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. No marks or inscriptions. A very clean very tight copy with bright unmarked boards and no bumping to corners. Dust jacket not price clipped or marked or torn with tiny nick to spine top, minor creasing to lower rear edge and traces of storage. 375pp. This is the story of the aircraft development and testing regime which began in the 1950s by NASA to achieve hypersonic speeds as the prelude to space flight. With a Foreword by Neil Armstrong. Illustrated. We do not use stock photos, the picture displayed is of the actual book for sale. Every one of our books is in stock in the UK ready for immediate delivery. Size: 9.25 x 6.25 inches. Seller Inventory # 027400
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AT THE EDGE OF SPACE the X-15 Flight Program
Published by
Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington and London, 1992
ISBN 10: 1560981075
ISBN 13: 9781560981077
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Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First Edition. 375 pages in excellent condition. Illustrated with photographs. Blue cloth over black boards. White titles on the spine. Corners not bumped. Blue, illustrated DJ with white titles. Extremely light wear on corners and edges. FINE/NEAR FINE. Book. Seller Inventory # 209305
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At the Edge of Space; The X-15 Flight Program
Published by
Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC, 1992
ISBN 10: 1560981075
ISBN 13: 9781560981077
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Seller: Ground Zero Books, Ltd., Silver Spring, MD, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: Very good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very good. Second printing [stated]. xiv, [2], 375, [1] pages. Foreword by Neil A. Armstrong. Illustrations. Appendices. Index. Milton Orville Thompson (May 4, 1926 - August 6, 1993), better known as Milt Thompson, was an American naval officer, aviator, engineer, and NASA research pilot. He was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the United States Air Force and NASA. He was also selected for participation in the X-20 Dyna-Soar program. Following his involvement with the X-15 program, Thompson became Chief Engineer and Director of Research Projects at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. Thompson became a flight test engineer for the Boeing Aircraft Company in Seattle. During his two years at Boeing, he flew on the sister aircraft of Dryden's B-52B air-launch vehicle. On 16 August 1963, Thompson became the first person to fly a lifting body, the lightweight NASA M2-F1. He flew it a total of 47 times, and also made five flights in the M2-F2. In At the Edge of Space, Milton O. Thompson tells the dramatic story of one of the most successful research aircraft ever flown. The first full-length account of the X-15 program, the book profiles the twelve test pilots (Neil Armstrong, Joe Engle, Scott Crossfield, and the author among them) chosen for the program. Thompson has translated a highly technical subject into readable accounts of each pilot's participation, including many heroic and humorous anecdotes and highlighting the pilots' careers after the program ended in 1968. The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set speed and altitude records in the 1960s, reaching the edge of outer space and returning with valuable data used in aircraft and spacecraft design. The X-15's highest speed, 4,520 miles per hour (7,274 km/h; 2,021 m/s), was achieved in October 1967, when William J. Knight flew at Mach 6.70 at an altitude of 102,100 feet (31,120 m), or 19.34 miles. This set the official world record for the highest speed ever recorded by a crewed, powered aircraft, which remains unbroken. During the X-15 program, 12 pilots flew a combined 199 flights. Of these, 8 pilots flew a combined 13 flights which met the Air Force spaceflight criterion by exceeding the altitude of 50 miles (80 km), thus qualifying these pilots as being astronauts. The Air Force pilots qualified for military astronaut wings immediately, while the civilian pilots were eventually awarded NASA astronaut wings in 2005, 35 years after the last X-15 flight. The X-15 was based on a concept study from Walter Dornberger for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) for a hypersonic research aircraft. The requests for proposal (RFPs) were published on 30 December 1954 for the airframe and on 4 February 1955 for the rocket engine. The X-15 was built by two manufacturers: North American Aviation was contracted for the airframe in November 1955, and Reaction Motors was contracted for building the engines in 1956. Like many X-series aircraft, the X-15 was designed to be carried aloft and drop launched from under the wing of a B-52 mother ship. Air Force NB-52A, "The High and Mighty One" (serial 52-0003), and NB-52B, "The Challenger" (serial 52-0008, a.k.a. Balls 8) served as carrier planes for all X-15 flights. Release took place at an altitude of about 8.5 miles (13.7 km) and a speed of about 500 miles per hour (805 km/h). The X-15 fuselage was long and cylindrical, with rear fairings that flattened its appearance, and thick, dorsal and ventral wedge-fin stabilizers. Parts of the fuselage (the outer skin) were heat-resistant nickel alloy (Inconel-X 750). The retractable landing gear comprised a nose-wheel carriage and two rear skids. The skids did not extend beyond the ventral fin, which required the pilot to jettison the lower fin just before land. Seller Inventory # 78702
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