#x-15

A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress drop-ship and it’s North American X-15 pulling away. Science Service Science Program booklets and Revell model kits’ trading card illustration detail - 1961.

NMUSAF

Late program launch of the X-15 from its B-52 Stratofortress mothership.

X-15

NASA ID: EC66-1461

The X-15 was carried into the air by a converted B-52 bomber and released at high altitude. The pilot then ignited the X-15's rocket motor. It was the first plane to reach the edge of outer space and set records for the fastest manned aircraft (7,274 kilometres per hour, or Mach 6.72).