X-15 Rocket Plane Makes First Powered Flight
On Sept. 17, 1959 – North American test pilot A. Scott Crossfield conducted the first powered flight of the company’s X-15 rocket plane after it was dropped from a highly modified Boeing B-52 bomber designated the NB-52A. The X-15 was the world’s first operational spaceplane and designed to allow the US Air Force and NASA to gather data on hypersonic, high-altitude flight. The aircraft was equipped with aerodynamic controls for atmospheric flight and a reaction control system for use at higher altitudes.