{"product_id":"9780803228405-x-15-rocket-plane","title":"The X-15 Rocket Plane","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFlying the First Wings into Space. The story of the X-15, the pioneering research flight program in the fifties and sixties, and its pilots.\u003cbr\u003e  . \u003cp\u003eWith the Soviet Union’s launch of the first Sputnik satellite in 1957, the Cold War soared to new heights as Americans feared losing the race into space. \u003ci\u003eThe X-15 Rocket Plane\u003c\/i\u003e tells the enthralling yet little-known story of the hypersonic X-15, the winged rocket ship that met this challenge and opened the way into human-controlled spaceflight.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Drawing on interviews with those who were there, Michelle Evans captures the drama and excitement of, yes, rocket science: how to handle the heat generated at speeds up to Mach 7, how to make a rocket-propulsion system that could throttle, and how to safely reenter the atmosphere from space and make a precision landing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This book puts a human face on the feats of science and engineering that went into the X-15 program, many of them critical to the development of the space shuttle. And, finally, it introduces us to the largely unsung pilots of the X-15. By the time of the \u003ci\u003eApollo 11\u003c\/i\u003e moon landing, thirty-one American astronauts had flown into space—eight of them astronaut-pilots of the X-15. \u003ci\u003eThe X-15 Rocket Plane\u003c\/i\u003e restores these pioneers to their rightful place in the history of spaceflight.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40823284170849,"sku":"9780803228405","price":38.57,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/d9dd341b7c8e59df0aa3bad95acfcd0b.png?v=1683303176","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780803228405-x-15-rocket-plane","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}