On Oct. 3 1967 the North American X-15A-2 serial number 56-6671 hypersonic rocket-powered research aircraft achieved a maximum Mach 6.72 piloted by Major Pete Knight. Operated by the United States ...

The record flight In June 1967, the X-15A-2 rocket powered research aircraft received a full-scale ablative coating to protect the craft from the high temperatures associated with supersonic flight.

X-15A-2 Soars in Research Flight NASA/U.S. Air Force This photo shows the X-15A-2 (56-6671) on a research flight with a dummy ramjet engine attached to the bottom of its wedge-shaped vertical tail.

The X-15A-2 (USAF Serial No. 56-6671) is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.

The North American X-15 was a revolutionary rocket-powered aircraft that pushed the boundaries of high-speed flight in the ...

Three X-15 research aircraft were built and flown, completing a total of 199 research flights. The National Air and Space Museum has the historic X-15 #1, Air Force serial 56-6670. The X15 #2 (56-6671 ...

In 1967, William “Pete” Knight made history at the stick of his North American X-15A-2 rocket-powered aircraft when he reached a speed of Mach 6.7, or around 5,140 miles per hour, at an ...

The second X-15 rocket plane is shown with two external fuel tanks which were added during its conversion to the X-15A-2 configuration in the mid-1960's.