Aircrafts for dummies

One of the earliest rocket powered aircraft worth noting was the United States Air Force X-15. This aircraft broke several records in the 1960s. Several of the flights went down in history as space flight because they surpassed altitudes of 50 miles. The pilots that piloted these particular flights were awarded status as Astronauts. As in the flight of the Bell X-1 aircraft being carried under the wing of a modified B-29, the X-15 was carried into flight under the wing of a B-52. The maximum speed attained during flight was Mach 6.72.