NJAHOF Proudly Celebrates
The X-15 Engine from
Reaction Motors of Denville, NJ.
VISIT US AND SEE
THE X-15 ENGINE FROM
THE FIRST HYPERSONIC PLANE
Designed to be a science project into the behavior of man and machine at hypersonic speeds, The X-15 flew over a period of nearly 10 years and set the world’s unofficial speed and altitude records of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7) and 354,200 feet in a program to investigate all aspects of piloted hypersonic flight.
Information gained from the highly successful X-15 program contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo piloted spaceflight programs as well as the Space Shuttle program.
Made by then Reaction Motors Division located in Denville New Jersey of Thiokol Chemical Corp the X-15 was powered by 3 of these engines which in the final version made 57,000 pounds of thrust. Because of the large fuel consumption of its rocket engine, the X-15 was air launched from a B-52 aircraft at about 45,000 feet and speeds upward of 500 mph.
Depending on the mission, the rocket engine provided thrust for the first 80 to 120 seconds of flight. The remainder of the normal 8- to 12-minute flight was without power and ended in a 200-mph glide landing.
Imagine an engine that was designed with only pencils and slide rules.
Imagine in a flight lasting no more than 2 minutes this engine took the plane up to the world’s unofficial speed and altitude records of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7) and 354,200 Feet. And this all happened between 1959 and 1968 In New Jersey! Amazing!!