The Insane Engineering of the X-15
An evening pause: This history, largely forgotten, seems especially significant now that the first wholly commercial space flights are about to happen.
Hat tip Lazarus Long.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
We took more risks as a society then. Thing is…if NASA blew up things in the fail-fast mode–and Musk was careful like ULA, but didn’t launch often-wouldn’t libertarian purists still be on Elon’s side? They’d praise how careful he was-instead of blowing up rockets right and left on the taxpayer’s dime…and they would still want the gov’t rocket dead-even if it was SLS that stuck a landing…just a little thought. Of course-back in the day…it was a Democrat who was a big anti-spending zealot…and in his memory…all space toilets should be called ‘proxmires.’
That, for me, was so much fun to watch. Informative, entertaining, well done. Its amazing to think about all the different bits of technology that had to come together to make this project possible. Including how those technologies interacted with one another. The human mind, and math, is capable of so much good. I salute these pioneers for what they accomplished.
For now, there is UCF’s HyperREACT of Kareem Ahmed who thinks there could be a hypersonic combustion break through-while at phys.org…there was recent news of a thermal cloak. I wanted a Buran type Shuttle II so that the SSMEs are on the External Tank-like SLS-but large winged airframes would be on the side.
You need large airframes to do testing right-thus my support for big stage-and-a-half SLS…hoping it can evolve back to side mount.
But both old and new space are thinking capsules…ugh.
Now I hear Bill Gates has a divorce. Maybe someone can talk him into being a space investor.
The cause of Winged Spaceflight deserves better than Branson.
“Now I hear Bill Gates has a divorce. Maybe someone can talk him into being a space investor.” –Jeff Wright
Anybody else concerned that the wealthiest Americans are developing “off planet” plans? Do they know something the rest of us don’t?
I have the movie X-15 (1961 Richard Donner). Mediocre movie, but there are some ‘names’, and lot’s of USAF footage.
That was really good.
We lost one of three killing pilot Michael Adams.
I think I read somewhere that before the the space race, the thinking at the time was we would fly into space by extending the size and capabilities of vehicles like the X-15.
You can blame Tom Wolfe for that. TEST GODS writes about said fighter jock culture. But it held space back. Medaris was talking Starship sized troop rockets back in the ABMA days….before the Air Farce had it killed. Medaris would have loved Musk. I wish they could have met.
And yet…I do hope for a Buran type Orion III spaceship one day. The pull is strong. One day…