Dive into the riveting story of the North American X-15, the legendary rocket plane that bridged the gap between conventional airplanes and the Space Shuttle. Uncover the triumphs and tragedies of the pilots who rode this hypersonic beast to the threshold of space, facing deadly G-forces, blistering heat, and the unforgiving vacuum of the upper atmosphere. Learn about the radical aerospace innovations that made Mach 6.7 possible. Engineering the Hypersonic Age Overcoming the intense friction of hypersonic flight required abandoning standard aircraft aluminum. The X-15 was forged from a stubborn nickel-chromium alloy called Inconel-X, painted with heat-radiating black silicone, and eventually coated in ablative armor to survive temperatures that could melt steel. General Information on the X-15 Program Operating primarily out of Edwards Air Force Base, the X-15 project was a massive colla

Source: Mach 6.7: America’s Most Dangerous Ride to Space. Piloting a Bomb: Inside the Cockpit of the X – 15