Thank you Santa Claus.
Neil Armstrong’s first suborbital flights were in the X-15, before he joined the astronaut corps.
On flight 51, he hit Mach 5.3 and 207,500 feet of altitude, but bounced off the atmosphere on reentry… and almost ended up at LAX. Incredible bravery, with a classic smile…
There were three X-15’s. Armstrong was the first to fly #3. I have a piece of that wreckage on display at the office: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/6264855739/
Leave a Reply