First human flight into the mesosphere
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 .
References
^ "X-15 Flight Log". Proceedings of the X-15 First Flight 30th Anniversary Celebration (PDF) (Technical report). Edwards, California: NASA . June 8, 1989. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 25, 2023. Retrieved October 25, 2023 .
^ McDowell, Jonathan (1994). "The X-15 Spaceplane" (PDF) . Quest . Vol. 3, no. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 25, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2023 .
^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Jonathan McDowell's Additions to English" . Jonathan's Space Report . Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2023 .
^ Kumpa, Peter J. (April 13, 1961). "Cosmonaut is landed in good shape" . The Baltimore Sun . Vol. 248, no. 126. p. 1. Archived from the original on October 25, 2023. Retrieved October 25, 2023 .
Notes
Operators Manufacturer Pilots Flights Related