At the Edge of Space: The X-15 Flight Program - Hardcover

Thomson, Milton O.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1853104167 ISBN 13: 9781853104169

Publisher: Airlife Publishing Ltd, 1993

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.

About this title

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.

Edition details

• Publisher: Airlife Publishing Ltd
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 1853104167
• ISBN 13: 9781853104169
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English