X-15A 3 F-65Spacecraft:X-15A No. 3 Launch Vehicle: NB-52 Launched: 17 Jul 1968 |
Prime Crew |
Description: 12th X-15A manned suborbital |
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M J Adams 
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| Altitude: 50.3 miles (81.0 km)
The International Aeronautical Federation recognizes a flight above 100 kilometers (62.14 statute miles) as being a spaceflight. The United States recognizes a flight above 50 statute miles (80.46 kilometers) as being a spaceflight. The lowest recorded perigee of a satellite orbit is 78 kilometers (48.5 statute miles). Adams was killed when the vehicle entered a hypersonic spin while descending, then oscillated violently as aerodynamic forces increased after re-entry. As his aircraft's flight control system operated the control surfaces to their limits, acceleration built to 15 g vertical and 8.0 g lateral. The airframe broke apart at 60,000 ft (18,000 m) altitude, scattering the X-15's wreckage for 50 square miles (130 km2). References:
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