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Show Utah Demo Senator Inspects Rocket Power Space Aircraft The craft that is expected to fly 3,600 miles an hour, the rocket-powered X-15, was inspected in-spected prior to testing by a ghoup of United States senators including Frank E. Moss of Utah. The visit to the plant of North American Aviation in Los Angeles An-geles was part of an inspection tour designed to bring the lawmakers law-makers up to date on work of the Air Research and Development Develop-ment Command. Senator Moss holds the rank of Colonel in the U. S. Air Force Reserve. Also at North American, the senators viewed mock-ups of the still secret B-70 bomber and F-108 interceptor, both craft designed to launch missiles. "Development of the X-15 was a joint research effort of the Air I Force the Navy and the National I Aeronautical and Space Agency, the Senator said. "With it we expect ex-pect to obtain knowledge of actual ac-tual flight conditions beyond the earth's atmosphere, aerodynamic heating, and reaction of man to weightlessness, acceleration and deceleration," he said. First phase of the extensive testing program for the X-15 has been successfully carried out at Edwards Air Force Base, California, Cali-fornia, when the craft made a flight as a "passenger" under the wing of a modified B-52. Soon to come in is a glide flight without power and a series of powered flights. The X-15 will then be turned over to the Air Force and the National Aeronautical Aeronau-tical and Space Agency for flights to attain 3,600 miles an hour and to travel 100 miles in the sky. |