Tag Archives: NAA

The X-15′s First Glide

Posted on June 8, 2012 by asteitel

It was a chilly morning on June 8, 1959 when Scott Crossfield climbed into the cockpit of the X-15 rocket aircraft. By 8:30, he was airborne, and the aircraft  was nestled under the wing of the larger B-52 launch plane. … Continue reading →

Posted in Aircraft, History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Losing Rogallo from Gemini

Posted on May 22, 2011 by asteitel

Landing methods and the Gemini program are two of my favourite topics, and I’ve previously posted about landing methods in Gemini. The Mercury program demonstrated sufficient reason to move away from splashdowns, and the second generation Gemini manned spaceflight program … Continue reading →

Posted in Apollo, Gemini, Manned Spaceflight, Mercury | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The X-15 as Research Aircraft

Posted on January 7, 2011 by asteitel

In a previous post, I offered a brief summary of the X-15 program in which I highlighted its features that enabled it to take on the designation of a ‘space plane’. I also mentioned that its nature is two-fold; it … Continue reading →

Posted in Aircraft, History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight, Mercury, Soviet | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The X-15 as Space Plane

Posted on December 18, 2010 by asteitel

A number of my previous posts have drawn attention to some of the central aspects in the history and development of land landings in the early space age. But the drawbacks of splashdowns and hazards of the Soviets’ method of … Continue reading →

Posted in Aircraft, History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments