Joseph A. Walker
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Joseph Albert Walker was an American World War II pilot, experimental physicist, NASA test pilot, and astronaut who was the first person to fly an airplane to space. He was one of twelve pilots who fl
Walker in 1955
Walker (L) with his fellow test pilots Butchart (C) and Jones (R), 1952
Joe Walker and the X-1A
Walker in his pressure suit with the X-1E
North American X-15
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The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft formerly operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of
Joseph A. Walker
…experimental physicist, NASA test pilot, and astronaut who was the first person to fly an airplane to space. He was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the Air Force and NASA. In 1961, Walker became the first human in the mesosphere when piloting Flight…
X-15A-3 pulls away from its drop launch plane over Edwards Air Force Base during a mission in the 1960s.
X-15 after igniting rocket engine
Cockpit of an X-15
X-15A-2, with sealed ablative coating, external fuel tanks, and ramjet dummy test