The X-15 Flew at 4,520 MPH and 100,000 Feet — No Crewed Aircraft Has Gone Faster in the 59 Years Since

The X-15 Flew at 4,520 MPH and 100,000 Feet — No Crewed Aircraft Has Gone Faster in the 59 Years Since

Summary and Key Points: On October 3, 1967, test pilot William “Pete” Knight flew the rocket-powered X-15 to Mach 6.7 — about 4,520 mph — a speed no crewed aircraft has matched in nearly 60 years. Dropped from a B-52 over the Mojave, the X-15 was part airplane, part rocket, part spacecraft, reaching the edge of space on a single rocket burn before gliding home. Its 12 pilots included Neil Armstrong, and its data helped shape Apollo and the Space…