Category: X-15 Pilot

Categories: Astronauts

X-15 In Flight

There were 12 pilots for the program: five from NASA, five from the Air Force, one from the Navy, and one from North American. Generally, pilots used one of two flight profiles -- a speed profile that maintained a level altitude until time for descent to a landing or a high-altitude flight plan that maintained a steep rate of climb until reaching altitude and then descending. The X-15 pilots in order of date of first flight and number of flights were:

• Scott Crossfield, North American Aviation, 14 (reached 25,858 m)
• Joseph A. Walker, NASA, 25 (reached 107,960 m, qualified as Astronaut)
• Robert M. White, USAF, 16 (reached 95,936 m, qualified as Astronaut)
• Forrest S. Petersen, USN, 5 (reached 31,029 m)
• John B. McKay, NASA, 29 (reached 90,099 m, qualified as Astronaut)
• Robert A. Rushworth, USAF, 34 (reached 86,868 m, qualified as Astronaut)
• Neil A. Armstrong, NASA, 7 (reached 63,246 m)
• Joe H. Engle, USAF, 16 (reached 85,527 m, qualified as Astronaut)
• Milton O. Thompson, NASA, 14 (reached 65,258 m)
• William J. Knight, USAF, 16 (reached 85,496 m, qualified as Astronaut)
• William H. Dana, NASA, 16 (reached 93,543 m, qualified as Astronaut)
• Michael J. Adams, USAF, 7 (reached 81,077 m, qualified as Astronaut)

Additionally, Alvin Swauger White, Iven Carl Kincheloe Jr and Lloyd Nims Hoover were assigned to the program, but never flew the X-15.

• See the North American X-15 Wikipedia page for details on the space plane.
• See the List of X-15 flights for more details on the Astronauts' missions.
• See the North American X-15 page for a convenient table of all flights.

Michael James Adams 05 May 1930 Sacramento, Sacramento, California, United States - 15 Nov 1967

Neil Armstrong 05 Aug 1930 Wapakoneta, Auglaize, Ohio, United States - 25 Aug 2012

Albert Crossfield 02 Oct 1921 Berkeley, Alameda, California, United States - 19 Apr 2006

William Harvey Dana 03 Nov 1930 Pasadena, Los Angeles, California, USA - 06 May 2014

Joe Engle 1930s

William J Knight 18 Nov 1929 Noblesville, Hamilton, Indiana, United States - 07 May 2004

John Barron McKay 08 Dec 1922 Portsmouth, Virginia, United States - 27 Apr 1975

Forrest Petersen 16 May 1922 Holdrege, Phelps, Nebraska, United States - 08 Dec 1990

Robert Aitken Rushworth 09 Oct 1924 Madison, Somerset, Maine, United States - 18 Mar 1993

Milton Orville Thompson 04 May 1926 Crookston, Polk, Minnesota, United States - 06 Aug 1993

Joseph Albert Walker 20 Feb 1921 Washington, Pennsylvania, United States - 08 Jun 1966

Robert Michael White 06 Jul 1924 New York City, New York, United States - 17 Mar 2010

This page was last modified 03:03, 12 January 2020. This page has been accessed 387 times.