ANNCR:
EXPLORATIONS — A PROGRAM IN SPECIAL ENGLISH BY THE VOICE OFAMERICA.
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TODAY, DOUG JOHNSON AND FRANK OLIVER TELL ABOUT THE FIRSTAIRPLANE THAT FLEW OUT OF THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE. IT WAS DESIGNED TOTEST EQUIPMENT AND CONDITIONS FOR FUTURE SPACE FLIGHTS. THE PLANEWAS CALLED THE X-FIFTEEN.
VOICE ONE:
THE PILOT OF THE HUGE B-FIFTY-TWO BOMBER PLANE PUSHES A BUTTON.FROM UNDER THE PLANE’S RIGHT WING, THE BLACK SHARP-NOSED X-FIFTEENDROPS FREE. IT IS ELEVEN-AND ONE-HALF KILOMETERS ABOVE THE EARTH.
PILOT SCOTT CROSSFIELD IS IN THE X-FIFTEEN’S ONLY SEAT. WHEN HEIS CLEAR OF THE B-FIFTY-TWO, HE STARTS THE X-FIFTEEN’S ROCKETENGINE. AND SO BEGINS THE FIRST POWERED FLIGHT OF THE EXPERIMENTALPLANE DESIGNED TO TAKE MAN TO THE EDGE OF SPACE.
VOICE TWO:
THE X-FIFTEEN FLIES HIGH OVER THE SANDY WASTELAND OF CALIFORNIA’SMOJAVE DESERT. UP, UP IT FLIES. AFTER THREE MINUTES, ITS FUEL HASBURNED UP. IT IS FLYING ABOUT TWO-THOUSAND KILOMETERS AN HOUR.
SCOTT CROSSFIELD’S VOICE TIGHTENS. HIS BREATHING BECOMES HARDERAS THE PLANE PUSHES AGAINST THE ATMOSPHERE. AT THAT SPEED, THEPRESSURE IS THREE TIMES THE FORCE OF GRAVITY.
THEN THE X-FIFTEEN PUSHES OVER THE TOP OF ITS FLIGHT PATH. ITSETTLES INTO A LONG, POWERLESS SLIDE TOWARD THE LANDING FIELD ATEDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE.
DESIGNERS OF THE X-FIFTEEN HAVE WARNED CROSSFIELD ABOUT THELANDING. THEY SAY IT WILL BE LIKE DRIVING A RACE CAR TOWARD A BRICKWALL AT ONE-HUNDRED-SIXTY KILOMETERS AN HOUR, HITTING THE BRAKES,AND STOPPING LESS THAN A METER FROM THE WALL. CROSSFIELD LANDS THEPLANE WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM. HIS SUCCESS SHOWS, AS ONE NEWSPAPERREPORTS, THAT “THE UNITED STATES HAS MEN TO MATCH ITS ROCKETS.”
VOICE ONE:
THAT FIRST FLIGHT OF THE X-FIFTEEN TOOK PLACE IN SEPTEMBER,NINETEEN-FIFTY-NINE. BUT THE STORY BEGAN IN THE NINETEEN-FORTIESWITH THE ‘X’ SERIES OF EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT.
THE FIRST PLANE EVER TO FLY FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF SOUND WASTHE X-ONE IN NINETEEN-FORTY-SEVEN. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AGENCIESAND AMERICA’S AIRPLANE INDUSTRY REALIZED THEN THAT IT WAS POSSIBLETO BUILD AN EVEN FASTER PLANE. IT WOULD REACH HYPERSONIC SPEEDS –FIVE TIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND.
THE FIRST PROPOSAL FOR THIS NEW RESEARCH VEHICLE, THE X-FIFTEEN,WAS MADE IN NINETEEN-FIFTY-FOUR. THE SPACE AGENCY, AIR FORCE ANDNAVY JOINTLY SUPPORTED THE PROGRAM. THEY WANTED A PLANE THAT COULDTEST CONDITIONS FOR FUTURE FLIGHTS INTO SPACE.
VOICE TWO:
THE PROJECT MOVED QUICKLY. THE NORTH AMERICAN AVIATION COMPANYWON THE COMPETITION TO DESIGN AND BUILD THE PLANE. THE DESIGN WOULDBE PART AIRCRAFT AND PART SPACECRAFT. THE COMPANY TOOK LESS THANFOUR YEARS TO PRODUCE THREE X-FIFTEENS.
THE PLANES WERE NOT BIG. THEY WERE JUST FIFTEEN METERS LONG WITHWINGS LESS THAN SEVEN METERS ACROSS. THEY WERE DESIGNED TO FLY ATSPEEDS UP TO SIX-THOUSAND FOUR-HUNDRED KILOMETERS AN HOUR. THEY WEREDESIGNED TO REACH HEIGHTS OF EIGHTY KILOMETERS. THEIR PURPOSE WAS TOEXPLORE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS OF MANNED FLIGHT, DURING SHORT PERIODS,IN LOWER SPACE. NO ONE HAD EVER DONE THAT BEFORE.
VOICE ONE:
THE X-FIFTEEN PROJECT HAD FOUR MAJOR GOALS.
IT WOULD TEST FLIGHT CONDITIONS AT THE EDGE OF EARTH’SATMOSPHERE. IT WOULD LEAVE THE ATMOSPHERE BRIEFLY, THEN RETURN,TESTING THE EFFECTS OF THE EXTREME HEAT OF RE-ENTRY. IT WOULDPROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE CONTROLS NEEDED IN THE NEAR WEIGHTLESSENVIRONMENT OF LOWER SPACE. AND IT WOULD ANSWER A VERY IMPORTANTQUESTION. HOW WOULD HUMANS REACT TO SPACE FLIGHT?
VOICE TWO:
THE X-FIFTEEN WAS A NEW IDEA. AND IT WAS BUILT WITH NEW METHODS.IT WAS COVERED IN A NEW MATERIAL CALLED “INCONEL X.” THE MATERIALWAS A MIXTURE OF THE METALS NICKEL AND CHROMIUM. IT WOULD PROTECTTHE PLANE FROM HIGH TEMPERATURES.
THERE WERE NEW DESIGNS FOR THE PLANE’S ROCKET ENGINE, LANDINGEQUIPMENT AND THE SMALL ROCKETS NEEDED TO MOVE IT IN SPACE. THEREWAS A NEW SYSTEM OF LIQUID NITROGEN TO KEEP THE PILOT COOL AND TORESIST THE CRUSHING FORCE OF GRAVITY AT HIGH SPEEDS. AND THERE WAS ANEW FUEL, A MIXTURE OF LIQUID AMMONIA AND LIQUID OXYGEN.
VOICE ONE:
THE X-FIFTEEN WAS NEVER DESIGNED TO GO INTO ORBIT. NOR COULD ITTAKE-OFF FROM THE GROUND. IT WAS CARRIED INTO THE AIR BY AB-FIFTY-TWO BOMBER. THE BIG B-FIFTY-TWO CARRIED THE SMALL X-FIFTEENUNDER ITS WING. IT LOOKED A LITTLE LIKE A MOTHER WHALE SWIMMING WITHITS BABY.
AT ABOUT FIFTEEN-THOUSAND METERS, THE B-FIFTY-TWO RELEASED THEX-FIFTEEN. AFTER A FEW SECONDS, WHEN THE X-FIFTEEN WAS SAFELY AWAY,THE PILOT STARTED ITS ROCKET ENGINE. THE X-FIFTEEN FLEW UPWARD WITHUNBELIEVABLE POWER.
VOICE TWO:
THE THREE X-FIFTEENS WERE FLOWN ONE-HUNDRED NINETY-NINE TIMES.EACH FLIGHT WAS A NEW EXPERIMENT. PLANNING TOOK MANY DAYS. THE PILOTSPENT FIFTY HOURS IN A SIMULATOR — A COPY OF THE PLANE ON THEGROUND — PREPARING FOR HIS TEN-MINUTE FLIGHT.
ONCE THE REAL FLIGHT BEGAN, THE PILOT HAD TO REMEMBER EVERYTHINGHE LEARNED. HE HAD TO WORK QUICKLY AND EXACTLY. ALL HIS MOVEMENTSWERE MADE AGAINST A FORCE THAT COULD REACH SIX TIMES THE POWER OFGRAVITY. HE HAD TO STRUGGLE TO REACH FORWARD FOR THE CONTROLS WHILEBEING PUSHED BACK HARD IN HIS SEAT.
A DELAY OF EVEN ONE SECOND COULD AFFECT THE INFORMATION BEINGCOLLECTED. IT COULD CHANGE THE PLANE’S PATH JUST ENOUGH TO DESTROYTHE PILOT’S CHANCE OF A SAFE LANDING.
VOICE ONE:
THE X-FIFTEEN SET HEIGHT AND SPEED RECORDS GREATER THAN THOSEEXPECTED. THE NUMBER THREE PLANE CLIMBED MORE THAN ONE-HUNDRED-SEVENKILOMETERS ABOVE THE EARTH. THE NUMBER TWO PLANE FLEW SEVEN-THOUSANDTWO-HUNDRED THIRTY-TWO KILOMETERS AN HOUR. THAT WAS MORE THAN SEVENTIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND.
THE X-FIFTEEN WAS THE FIRST MAJOR INVESTMENT BY THE UNITED STATESIN MANNED SPACE FLIGHT TECHNOLOGY. MUCH OF WHAT WAS LEARNED FROM ITSFLIGHTS SPEEDED UP THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPACE PROGRAM.
VOICE TWO:
THE X-FIFTEEN TESTED MATERIALS FOR SPACE VEHICLES. IT TESTEDSPACESUITS WORN LATER BY AMERICA’S ASTRONAUTS. IT TESTED INSTRUMENTSFOR CONTROLLING A VEHICLE IN THE WEIGHTLESSNESS OF SPACE. AND ITPROVED THAT EXPERIENCED PILOTS HAD THE SKILLS NECESSARY TO FLY INSPACE.
TWELVE MILITARY AND CIVILIAN TEST PILOTS FLEW THE X-FIFTEENS. AFEW BECAME ASTRONAUTS.
THE X-FIFTEEN PROGRAM LASTED ABOUT TEN YEARS. THERE WERE ABOUTTWO-HUNDRED FLIGHTS. SOME OF THE FLIGHTS CARRIED SCIENTIFICEXPERIMENTS. ONE WAS A CONTAINER ON THE END OF THE WING. IT GATHEREDDUST AND TINY METEOROIDS FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE. ANOTHER WAS A SETOF SPECIAL INSTRUMENTS THAT HELPED MEASURE THE EFFECTS OF THE SUN’SRADIATION ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT.
VOICE ONE:
THE ONLY TRAGEDY CONNECTED WITH THE X-FIFTEEN PROGRAM HAPPENED INNINETEEN-SIXTY-SEVEN. THE PILOT WAS MICHAEL ADAMS OF THE UNITEDSTATES AIR FORCE. IT WAS HIS SEVENTH X-FIFTEEN FLIGHT.
EVERYTHING, AT FIRST, APPEARED TO BE NORMAL. THE PLANE REACHED AHEIGHT OF EIGHT KILOMETERS. IT WAS FLYING MORE THAN FIVE TIMES THESPEED OF SOUND. THEN, DURING A TEST OF THE WINGS, THE PLANE MOVEDSHARPLY OFF ITS FLIGHT PATH. IT DOVE TOWARD EARTH AT GREAT SPEED,SPINNING RAPIDLY, OUT OF CONTROL. ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE WAS TOO GREATFOR THE PLANE. IT BROKE APART. THE PILOT DID NOT SURVIVE.
VOICE TWO:
THE X-FIFTEEN MADE ITS LAST FLIGHT IN DECEMBER,NINETEEN-SIXTY-EIGHT. NASA NEEDED MONEY FOR ITS OTHER PROJECTS. ITDECIDED TO END THE X-FIFTEEN PROGRAM. MANY SPACE EXPERTS DISAGREEDWITH THE DECISION. THEY FELT THE X-FIFTEEN COULD HAVE CONTINUED TOPROVIDE NEW INFORMATION ABOUT AVIATION AND SPACE.
TODAY, THE X-FIFTEEN HANGS IN THE AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM INWASHINGTON, D-C. IT IS NEAR TWO OLDER MEMORIALS TO FLIGHT. THERE ISTHE WRIGHT BROTHERS’ “FLYER,” WHICH MADE THE FIRST HEAVIER-THAN-AIRFLIGHT. AND THERE IS THE “SPIRIT OF SAINT LOUIS,” WHICH CHARLESLINDBERGH FLEW ALONE ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.
ON THE FLOOR BELOW THESE AIRCRAFT ARE THREE SPACECRAFT COMMANDSHIPS. ONE OF THEM, THE APOLLO-ELEVEN, TRAVELED TO THE MOON JUSTSEVEN MONTHS AFTER THE LAST X-FIFTEEN FLIGHT. IT CARRIED THE MAN WHOBECAME THE FIRST HUMAN TO STEP ON THE MOON, NEIL ARMSTRONG, A FORMERX-FIFTEEN PILOT.
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ANNOUNCER:
THIS SPECIAL ENGLISH PROGRAM WAS WRITTEN BY MARILYN RICECHRISTIANO. YOUR NARRATORS WERE DOUG JOHNSON AND FRANK OLIVER. JOINUS AGAIN NEXT WEEK FOR ANOTHER EXPLORATIONS PROGRAM ON THE VOICE OFAMERICA.