The X-15 was the last in a line of manned rocket-powered research airplanes built during the 1950s to explore ever-faster and higher flight regimes. Nineteen years before Space Shuttle, the X-15 showed it was possible to fly into, and out of, space. Launched from the wing of a modified B-52 bomber, the ship rocketed higher and faster than any manned aircraft of the time. There had never been anything like the X-15; it had a million-horsepower engine and could fly twice as fast as a rifle bullet. In the joint X-15 hypersonic research program that NASA conducted with the Air Force, the Navy, and North American Aviation the aircraft flew over a period of nearly 10 years and set unofficial speed and altitude records, in a program to investigate all aspects of piloted hypersonic flight. Information gained from the highly successful X-15 program contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo piloted spaceflight programs as well as the Space Shuttle program.
Presenter
The X-15 was the last in a line of manned rocket-powered research airplanes built during the 1950s to explore ever-faster and higher flight regimes. Nineteen years before Space Shuttle, the X-15 showed it was possible to fly into, and out of, space. Launched from the wing of a modified B-52 bomber, the ship rocketed higher and faster than any manned aircraft of the time. There had never been anything like the X-15; it had a million-horsepower engine and could fly twice as fast as a rifle bullet. In the joint X-15 hypersonic research program that NASA conducted with the Air Force, the Navy, and North American Aviation the aircraft flew over a period of nearly 10 years and set unofficial speed and altitude records, in a program to investigate all aspects of piloted hypersonic flight. Information gained from the highly successful X-15 program contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo piloted spaceflight programs as well as the Space Shuttle program.
1962-01-01
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0.0It is the epic of the heroes of the first century of aviation, since the flight of the first plane on December 17, 1903 until today. A striking collection of portraits of outstanding men and women like Louis Blériot, the first to cross the Channel, to Lindbergh who crossed the Atlantic and Amelia Earhart and many more...
7.0Bob Hoover tells his own story and shares, with his trademark charm, the hard earned wisdom of a life spent pushing the edge of the envelope while contributing to aviation’s many developments.
7.4At the dawn of the Space Race, seven test pilots set out to become the first American astronauts to enter space. However, the road to making history brings momentous challenges.
0.0Air Disasters exposes some painful truths behind the world of flight, using actual footage of real incidents to look at why planes crash; in aerodynamic and technical terms and in the way the industry is run.
A brief history of British aviation and the development of both civil and military aircraft. Made for the Festival of Britain.
7.0On 28 November 1979, an Air New Zealand jet with 257 passengers went missing during a sightseeing tour over Antarctica. Within hours 11 ordinary police officers were called to duty to face the formidable Mount Erebus. As the police recovered the victims, an investigation team tried to uncover the mystery of how a jet could fly into a mountain in broad daylight. Did the airline have a secret it wanted to bury? This film tells the story of four New Zealand police officers who went to Antarctica as part of the police operation to recover the victims of the crash. Set in the beautiful yet hostile environment of Antarctica, this is the emotional and compelling true story of an extraordinary police operation.
6.6Richthofen goes off to war like thousands of other men. As fighter pilots, they become cult heroes for the soldiers on the battlefields. Marked by sportsmanlike conduct, technical exactitude and knightly propriety, they have their own code of honour. Before long he begins to understand that his hero status is deceptive. His love for Kate, a nurse, opens his eyes to the brutality of war.
7.8A fresh perspective on a modern-day miracle that many of us take for granted: flying. Narrated by Harrison Ford and featuring an original score from Academy Award® winning composer James Horner, the film takes viewers to 18 countries across all seven continents to illuminate how airplanes have empowered a century of global connectedness our ancestors could never have imagined.
10.0This documentary is about Bob Diemert of Carman, Manitoba, and his dream of building the world's next great fighter plane. His worldwide reputation as a genius at restoring "warbirds" enables him to finance his dream. The Defender is a lively, sometimes wild and funny, tale about a remarkable, modern-day folk hero.
6.9This 2004 documentary by Werner Herzog diaries the struggle of a passionate English inventor to design and test a unique airship during its maiden flight above the jungle canopy.
0.0Getting information about the enemy is vital in war, and today's aerial spies have science fiction capabilities unheard of even a few years ago. Reconnaissance and Intelligence Aircraft uses hitherto unreleased film to take you on active deployment with the pick of today's aircraft and equipment. Featured are dedicated, as well as podded, battlefield reconnaissance jet fighters and attack-aircraft and Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWACS) machines. The programme also includes remotely piloted vehicles and dedicated electronic warfare and jamming aircraft. Reconnaissance and Intelligence Aircraft is accompanied by a detailed script by aviation expert Bill Gunston.
7.2Concorde: A Supersonic Story follows the story of the most glamorous aeroplane ever built - told by the people whose lives she touched. We uncover rare footage telling the forgotten row between the French and British governments over the spelling of Concorde which threatened to derail the whole project.
0.0Discover what makes Air Force One faster, more secure, more comfortable, and more capable than any other comparable plane.
0.0Follows the development of Canadair's super-executive jet. A totally new type of aircraft, it is faster, cheaper to fly, and more comfortable than any other business jet. Would it make it off the drawing board and into the air? The film captures the spirit of the Canadian air transport industry and its attempt to compete with its American counterparts...
8.1An exhilarating documentary film that celebrates the unsung hero of aviation - the local airport - by tracing the life, history, and struggles of an airport icon: Southern California's Van Nuys Airport. Featuring thrilling aerial photography and a sweeping original score, the film dispels common misconceptions and opposes criticism of General Aviation airports.
6.7In 1927, Charles Lindbergh struggles to finance and design an airplane that will make his New York to Paris flight the first solo transatlantic crossing.
0.0Charles Lindbergh lived a life of absolutes, never doubting his own abilities or the altitude of his own moral high ground. His extraordinary character brought him unparalleled accomplishment but also public humiliation and lonely isolation, as his faith in genetic determinism could barely conceal his narrow, naive, and racist social and political views.
7.0All of the necessary technologies required to reach the Moon was first tested during Project Gemini, which comprised of ten missions in the mid-1960s.
0.0The story of the Wright Brothers and their efforts to invent, build, and fly the world's first successful motor-operated airplane.