1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910786115203321

Autore

Evans Michelle <1955->

Titolo

The X-15 rocket plane [[electronic resource] ] : flying the first wings into space / / Michelle Evans ; foreword by Joe H. Engle

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Lincoln, : University of Nebraska Press, 2013

ISBN

1-4962-1168-5

0-8032-4684-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (480 p.)

Collana

People's history of spaceflight

Disciplina

629.133/38

Soggetti

Aerodynamics, Hypersonic - Research - United States - History

Research aircraft - United States

X-15 (Rocket aircraft)

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

The whole nine yards -- A record high -- Gaining speed -- Naval engagement -- Changing course -- Straight and steady -- Skipping out -- On a roll -- Inconel meets celluloid -- Fastest man alive -- Chasing experiments -- In the line of duty -- Snow at Edwards.

Sommario/riassunto

With the Soviet Union's launch of the first Sputnik satellite in 1957, the Cold War soared to new heights as Americans feared losing the race into space. The X-15 Rocket Plane tells the enthralling yet little-known story of the hypersonic X-15, the winged rocket ship that met this challenge and opened the way into human-controlled spaceflight.  Drawing on interviews with those who were there, Michelle Evans captures the drama and excitement of, yes, rocket science: how to handle the heat generated at speeds up to Mach 7, how to make a rocket propulsion system that could throttle, and how to s