Flight 62 of the North American X-15 was a sub-orbital spaceflight conducted by NASA and the US Air Force on 17 July 1962. The X-15 was piloted by astronaut Robert Michael White to an altitude of 95.9 km (59.6 mi) surpassing the U.S. definition of space. Thus it became the first spaceflight of a spaceplane and a reusable spacecraft. The X-15 was also NASA's first space vehicle (the Mercury capsule flew into space first, but the X-15 was airborne before Big Joe 1). The Flight landed at Edwards Air Force Base. With this White was the first test pilot qualifying for his astronaut wings.
| Mission type | Test flight |
|---|---|
| Operator | USAF/NASA |
| Apogee | 95.9 kilometers (59.6 mi) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | X-15 |
| Manufacturer | North American |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 1 |
| Members | Robert Michael White |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | July 17, 1962 UTC |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | July 17, 1962 UTC |
| Landing site | Rogers Dry Lake, Edwards |
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot |  Robert Michael White[1]First spaceflight | |
References
edit- ^ says, Gary Heger (August 22, 2020). "The First Reusable Spacecraft: The X-15 Flights Above the Karman Line". Drew Ex Machina.