X-15

1961
1h 47m

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During the Cold War in the 1960s the U.S.A.F. and NASA tested the experimental rocket-powered aircraft X-15 that set altitude and speed records and reached the edge of outer space.During the Cold War in the 1960s the U.S.A.F. and NASA tested the experimental rocket-powered aircraft X-15 that set altitude and speed records and reached the edge of outer space.During the Cold War in the 1960s the U.S.A.F. and NASA tested the experimental rocket-powered aircraft X-15 that set altitude and speed records and reached the edge of outer space.

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IMDb RATING

5.5/10

801

YOUR RATING

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Trivia
The high altitude high speed experimental rocket-powered research aircraft X-15 was built by North American Aviation and Reaction Motors in 1955-56 and it was operated by the U.S. Air Force and NASA as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 achieved altitude and speed records and still holds the official world record for the highest speed reached by a manned aircraft. Its first flight was on 8th of June 1959. Its maximum speed was 4,520 miles per hour (7,274 km/h), its maximum altitude was 67.0 miles (107.8 km), and it had a range of 280 miles (450 km). Three X-15s were built and flew a total of 199 test flights. Twelve test pilots flew the X-15.

Goofs
At the beginning of the movie in a close-up side shot of the X-15 hanging under the B-52's wing, you can see that the cockpit cover on the X-15 is not fully seated in the closed position even though they are in a countdown to in-flight launch. A launch in that condition would have ripped the cockpit cover off of the aircraft and killed the pilot.

Quotes
Lt. Col. Lee Brandon: When you're a man, you be a man.

Connections
Featured in 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2012)

User reviews23

Featured review

5/10

Better as a documentary

I remember reading an interview with Mary Tyler Moore when she was just making the transition from a supporting role in a sitcom (Laura Petrie in The Dick van Dyke Show) to a starring role (Mary Richards in the Mary Tyler Moore Show). "X-15" was one of her earliest film roles. She made no bones about how awful she thought the film was. And by far, the most interesting thing about the film is the out-the-windshield cockpit footage, which is real. The rest of the film was, according to Moore, shot in three days and was of course mere fill, and it shows. It was barely up to the standard of the most forgettable soap operas of the 1960s.

The X-15 rocket plane program was famous and a really big deal in its time. The X-15's rocket engine burned through its fuel supply in just two minutes, so it couldn't waste time taking off; it was drop-launched at altitude from under the wing of a B-52, and like the space shuttle orbiter, it glided back to the ground. I wonder: Did the studio somehow luck into possession of a lot of Air Force B-reel footage shot from the cockpit camera of the X-15 for research purposes and decide to try for a quick buck, or did they deliberately commission this?