The X-15 Rocket Plane: Flying the First Wings into Space

11. Chasing Experiments

11. Chasing Experiments There were some hare-brained things that went on in the x-15 program like there are in all programs. Capturing a micrometeorite was just one of them. William H. Dana It was a Thursday morning, as it was for a majority of x-15 flights. Lt. Col. Ted Sturmthal and Sq. Ldr. John Miller boarded b-52 no. 003 and successfully ran through their pre-flight checklist. In the life support van Bill Dana was helped into his a/p-22s pressure suit, one layer at a time, by nasa supervisor Roger Barniki. It was the 199th time Roger was there for an x-15 drop, and Bill was hoping it was about to become his 16th. After being sealed into his silver spacesuit, Dana stood and picked up his portable air conditioning unit before stepping out the door of the van. He walked toward the yellow set of portable stairs that had been sidled comfortably into position next to x-15 no. 1’s open cockpit, just in front of the right wing of the mothership.The rocket plane had been mated to the b-52’s pylon the previous day, and like the pre-flight by Sturmthal and Miller, the x-15 proved itself ready to take flight as technicians prepared the way for Dana. Bill climbed the stairs, then stepped over the sill and down into the rocket plane’s cockpit, hunkering into the pilot’s seat. It took about fifteen minutes to be secured by straps and make sure his suit was properly connected to the life support system. Bill then ran through his own checklist, verifying each switch was properly positioned. The ground crew hadn’t missed a thing; it was time to go. The hatch was snapped shut and secured in place. Everyone cleared the area of the last vestiges of equipment, then moved away themselves to a safe chasing experiments | 331 distance. Sturmthal called for verification of readiness, then spooled up the eight jet engines before starting his taxi toward the Edwards runway. Three miles and another fifteen minutes passed as the combination lumbered forward. On the b-52’s wing, Dana bounced and jostled with each imperfection of the taxiway. Finally, Sturmthal turned the plane into the wind to line up for the takeoff roll. The vast expanse of the desert lay before them as everyone agreed all was in order. Ted pushed the throttles forward, the engines whined with power, and they slowly started moving down the runway. Soon, it was racing by as the bomber’s wingtips bent gracefully up like an albatross ready for the downstroke that was to push it skyward. The wheels rose from the tarmac as the rest of the b-52 produced enough speed and lift for both itself and its 33,000-pound cargo. After becoming airborne, Sturmthal turned toward the north and began his long climb to 45,000 feet, destined for the Smith Ranch Dry Lake area of north-central Nevada. Riding alone in the x-15, slung beneath the pylon, Dana continued his checks. It was 8:56 a.m. on 24 October 1968, and there were sixty-six minutes before Dana was to launch on mission 1-81-141, the last of the x-15 program. At the same time, 150 miles west of Edwards, at Vandenberg afb on the central California coast, another countdown was taking place. William Harvey Dana was born and raised a California boy, one of three from this state who flew the x-15. He was also one of three born in 1930, the second youngest pilot on the program after Joe Engle. Bill started life on 3 November of that year in Pasadena, the city that hosts the Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl football game each New Year’s Day for a worldwide audience. His family moved to Bakersfield, where Dana first got excited about flight, as he saw test missions of World War II bombers and fighters over California’s Central Valley. Bill recalled being especially impressed when he once witnessed a flyover of Northrop’s giant b-35 flying wing. This and other exotic aircraft were then being tested at Muroc Field, the forerunner of Edwards, where he was eventually to spend his flight test career. By the early 1940s, usually after homework was finished, Bill was often at work constructing balsa wood models of his favorite planes. [3.128.94.171] Project MUSE...