posted 12-03-2023 08:24 AM               

Space Cover 730: X-15 and U-2

So, when you read the title of this entry, did you think it was some cutesy way of talking about the X-15 and "you too"? Or that there was some strange encounter between the X-15 and Bono's rock band? Well, sorry to disappoint, but this is about a confluence of the X-15 and the famous U-2 spy-plane of the 1960's (versions of which are still flying today), sixty years ago this week...

On Dec. 5, 1963, Bob Rushworth launched on a mission in X-15 #1 to reach a planned Mach Number (basically how many times the speed-of-sound) of 5.7. He kind of overcooked it, reaching a Mach Number of 6.06, a record for the X-15 at that time! While flying his landing pattern, residual thermal stresses from the high speed caused his right canopy window to crack, inhibiting Rushworth's vision of the runway, and making for a big challenge to get the X-15 back on the ground in one piece!

A lesser-known fact about this flight is that it did another test of the X-15's KS-25 optical camera experiment, which took pictures of the ground underneath the X-15's flight track. On this flight, a U-2 spy-plane, flown by Lt. Col. Harry Andonian, simultaneously flew the same ground track under the X-15, at about 1/8 the speed and a lower altitude, to help investigate distortion in the X-15's photos due to the X-15's high speed and altitude.

Both gentlemen graciously signed the Dec. 5, 1963, Edwards, Ca. postmarked cover with Boy Scout Cachet shown above.