the X-15 Rocket Plane: Flying First Wings into Space

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 safely reenter the atmosphere from space and make a precision landing. This book puts a human face on the feats of science and engineering that went into the X-15 program, many of them critical to the development of the Space Shuttle. And, finally, it introduces us to the largely unsung pilots of the X-15. By the time of the moon landing, thirty-one American astronauts had flown into space—eight of them astronaut-pilots of the X-15. restores these pioneers, and the others who made it happen, to their rightful place in the history of spaceflight.