# X-15 ROCKET RESEARCH AIRCRAFT PROGRAM OVERVIEW 48464

This official NASA film covers the X-15 rocket research aircraft program of the 1960s. Though undated, references in the narrative suggest this film was made circa 1964 era. Photography of the X-15 flights at the edge of space and landings on dry lake beds are included. The film opens with scenes of the X-15 being launched from a United States Air Force jet (mark 01:10 ) as the narrator discusses “manned flight in a near-space environment” including structural design. Prior to the aircraft, we’re told starting at mark 02:10 , scientists had wondered what would be man’s role — if any — in space. The X-15 helped answer those questions. (Among the most popular and productive X-planes, the X-15 flew high enough to earn astronaut wings for a number of its pilots.) The aircraft is shown landing at mark 03:11 as the narrator continues his lecture on the construction of the X-15, including interviews with some of the engineers and designers involved in its creation. There is also a bit of a history lesson on the X-plane, including the Bell X-1 (starting at mark 05:00 ), a rocket engine-powered aircraft that was the first to break the speed of sound, the Douglas D-558, the Northrup X-4, the Bell X-5, and the Douglas X-3. The various Bell aircraft are also shown such as the Bell X-1A, Bell X-2, and Bell X-1E. We learn about aerodynamic heating of aircraft beginning at mark 07:30 as well as aerodynamic control. Built to withstand hypersonic speed, the X-15, the film continues with a…

- Kind: Film
- Genres: Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/48464ResearchProjectX15)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/48464ResearchProjectX15?play=1)