A group of experienced military aviator students work at classroom desks in the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School. They wear shirts and ties, but no badges of rank or ratings. Closeup of one is followed by camera panning across the room. One student sits next to a celestial globe with a geopolitical globe of the world in its center.. The student refers to the model as he works. Scene is interrupted by a slate and picks up again for a retake at beginning of the film. A brief slate is followed by view of students performing calculations and charting data points on graph paper.
Aerospace Research Pilot School in United Sates. Brigadier General James Stewart with a researcher at a laboratory. A microscope on table. General Stewart looks through microscope. He talks to the researcher and looks again in microscope. They continue conversing and Stewart looks into the microscope several times. Closeup of Stewart looking into the microscope.
Start of first high-powered flight mission of X-15. Pilot Scott Crossfield mounts steps aside B-52 and enters cockpit of X-15 fastened under its wing. Others help him to strap in and fasten his helmet.
The first successful powered flight of the X-15 Rocket Plane. Contrails at high altitude above, are seen, generated by the X-15 Rocket plane, 56-6671, and three chase planes. Scene shifts to view from a camera vehicle speeding across the Rogers Dry Lake bed towards the X-15 already landed on a runway. The three chase planes breaking away in background. Two Piasecki H-21 helicopters hovering low over the runway as the X-15 is obscured by dust it raised during its landing. The X-15 becomes visible as the dust settles. Officials step from a staff car that just arrived. The X-15 silhouetted with sunlight reflected on its top. Officials approach and surround the cockpit. One climbs upon the aircraft nose and helps open the cockpit canopy. Pilot, Scott Crossfield seen in the cockpit. Fire trucks and Air Force officers arrive. Firefighters direct a stream of cooling liquid at the rocket motors and rear of the X-15. Scott Crossfield, still in the cockpit, converses with officers and officials. Closeup of Crossfield in the cockpit. Technicians begin examining the exterior of the aircraft.
Photograpy from an airborne chase plane, on the occasion of the first powered flight of an X-15 rocket plane. A Lockheed F-104 Starfighter chase plane seen flying in the contrails of the NASA B-52 mothership (NB-52A,52-003) flown by pilots Bock and Allovie, An F-100D fighter flies slightly ahead of the B-52. The X-15, 56-6671, with Scott Crossfield, in the cockpit, is cradled under the B-52's right wing. View from the photo chase plane, as it pulls closer to the B-52. The X-15 and leading F-100 chase plane are clearly visible. The camera plane has dropped back and the X-15 releases, from the B-52 mothership, as its rocket engines simultaneously ignite. It drops and accelerates below and in front of the B-52. It stays below momentarily, without leaving a contrail. Then it accelerates and climbs rapidly out of sight. Sunlight glares as two chase planes are seen.
Mating of rocket powered aircraft X-15 with B-52 Stratofortress. Right inboard wings pylon and inboard engines of B-52 on ground. Technicians around B-52. A tug tows the X-15 underneath the wing of B-52. X-15 sitting under B-52 with large group of technicians around the nose of X-15. Ground support crew push X-15 back and line up with pylon. X-15 sitting on ground in place under pylon. Support crew works under nose of X-15. A man works on the top of X-15 and under pylon, a man works on tail assembly, three men work under nose of X-15, a man jacking up X-15 and two men work under nose of X-15. The majority of the men on right side of B-52 sitting on ground. A man works on top of X-15 under pylon. Support crew gathers around the X-15 and discuss. X-15 under the pylon and a part of B-52. Crew stands against the X-15. Three men stand in front of X-15. A man wears earphones. X -15 in neutral position. Support man on crew stands one on each side and work on X-15. A man stands in front of X-15 with a wrench in his hand. Support crew works on X-15. Two men work on X-15. X -15 is attached to pylon on right wing. Support crew work on X-15.
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