PALMDALE – NASA’S Aerospace Exploration Gallery in Palmdale will host a public historical presentation on the famed X-15 rocket plane on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2007.
The gallery is located at the Palmdale Institute of Technology, 38256 Sierra Highway, near city hall in the Palmdale Civic Center.
The X-15 presentation, consisting of a video and talk by historian Peter Merlin of NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, will begin at 9 a.m. and will repeat hourly until 3 p.m., with each presentation lasting approximately 40 minutes.
The legendary X-15 rocket plane research program was jointly conducted by NASA and the Air Force, Navy, and North American Aviation, Inc. The aircraft 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.
NASA Dryden operates the gallery in cooperation with the AERO Institute and the City of Palmdale. It is open free to the public Tuesdays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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Dryden Flight Research Center
P.O. Box 273
Edwards, California 93523
Phone 661/276-3449
FAX 661/276-3566
Gray Creech
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
Phone: 661/276-2662
gray.creech@dfrc.nasa.gov