Aircraft wingless - The forerunner of the US shuttle fleet

The X-24B airship, a precursor to the American-made shuttle fleet, is capable of making return flights to Earth from space and landed exactly where it was programmed. a conventional plane.

In the history of the development of space science, the X-24B is considered a precursor to the shuttle fleet designed and manufactured by NASA. The X-24B was officially brought to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California in January 1973. The X-24B is also the last aircraft to fulfill the mission of the US Dryden Flight Program.

Airplane X-24B

On August 1, 1973, the X-24B made its first flight under the control of pilot John Manke. In the final flight, the X-24B landed two times on the concrete runway at California's Edwards Air Force Base. This event demonstrated the possibility of making generations of planes capable of returning to Earth from space.

It was Manke and Maj, Mike Love, a pilot at the Edwards Air Force Base who piloted two memorable flights, as well as a project to develop the American shuttle program. The final flight of the X-24B took place on 23 September 1975 by pilot Bill Dana. This is considered the final flight of the generation of rocket-propelled aircraft from the Dryden Center.

Dana also made the final mission of the X-15 in 1968. The highest speed of the X-24B reached 1,873 km / h (Mach l, 76) set by the Love pilot. Meanwhile, Manke pilot set the record for the highest flight of the X-24B, nearly 23km from the ground.

The information gathered from the development and testing of the X-24B aircraft has helped NASA engineers successfully build the shuttle fleet. Currently, the X-24B is on display at the Wright-Patterson AFB Air Museum, Ohio, USA and the shuttle fleet has retired since 2011.