X-15 Flight 35
First human flight into the mesosphere From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Flight 35 of the North American X-15 was a test flight conducted by NASA and the US Air Force on March 30, 1961.[1] The X-15 was piloted by Joseph A. Walker to an altitude of 169,600 feet (51.7 km; 32.12 mi) surpassing the stratopause.[2] Thus Walker became the first human to reach the mesosphere.[3] This human altitude record lasted about two weeks, until Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space on Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961.[4] Joe Walker would later pilot the X-15 into space. The flight landed at Edwards Air Force Base.
| Mission type | Test flight |
|---|---|
| Operator | USAF/NASA |
| Apogee | 169,600 feet (51.7 km; 32.12 mi) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | X-15 |
| Manufacturer | North American |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 1 |
| Members | Joseph A. Walker |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | March 30, 1961 UTC |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | March 30, 1961 UTC |
| Landing site | Rogers Dry Lake, Edwards |
References
Notes
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.