The Insane Engineering of the X-15

2021-03-31

[public] 2.75M views, 122K likes, 1.14K dislikes audio only

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Thank you to Charlie Garcia for his invaluable advice and expertise during the scripting process of this video:

https://twitter.com/Astro_Chuck

3D Model provided by Clément Moreau:

https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/north-american-x-15-plane-bf491206ba844282949734b48b938c53

Credits:

Writer/Narrator: Brian McManus

Editor: Dylan Hennessy

Animator: Mike Ridolfi (https://www.moboxgraphics.com/)

Sound: Graham Haerther (https://haerther.net/)

Thumbnail: Simon Buckmaster https://twitter.com/forgottentowel

Fact Checker: Charlie Garcia

The research for this video took about 4 weeks with the help of the reports, books, research papers, and nasa communications below. Charlie Garcia also kindly lent his expertise in rocket propulsion as a fact checker and advisor for the project. We normally show numbers on screen, but numbers got mixed up during the convoluted writing process and it’s now 12 pm the night before upload and I just can’t bring myself to link them all appropriately, but rest assured that all information in the video comes from one of the fantastic resources linked below.

References

[1] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/news/FactSheets/FS-052-DFRC.html

[2] https://www.amazon.com/North-American-Owners-Workshop-Manual/dp/085733767X

[3] https://hackaday.com/2019/02/13/the-impossible-tech-behind-spacexs-new-engine/

[4] https://amzn.to/31AG1y0

[5] http://www.braeunig.us/space/comb-OH.htm

[6] http://www.braeunig.us/space/propel.htm#:~:text=The%20petroleum%20used%20as%20rocket,liquid%20oxygen%20as%20the%20oxidizer.

[7] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/specific-impulse

[8] Page 247 https://amzn.to/31AG1y0

[9] https://amzn.to/3we33sN

[10] https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marco-Pizzarelli/publication/321314974_Regenerative_cooling_of_liquid_rocket_engine_thrust_chambers/links/5e5ecd824585152ce804e244/Regenerative-cooling-of-liquid-rocket-engine-thrust-chambers.pdf

[11] https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4230.pdf

[12] https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/specific-heat-fluids-d_151.html

[13] https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc63762/m2/1/high_res_d/19930089889.pdf

[14] https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/470842main_X_15_Frontier_of_Flight.pdf

[15] Page 23 https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/470842main_X_15_Frontier_of_Flight.pdf

[16] Page 440 https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/470842main_X_15_Frontier_of_Flight.pdf

[17] Page 16 https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/279830.pdf

[18] page 74 https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/470842main_X_15_Frontier_of_Flight.pdf

[19] https://history.nasa.gov/x15lect/structur.html

[20] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344702322_Shock-induced_heating_and_transition_to_turbulence_in_a_hypersonic_boundary_layer

[21] Haynes 117

[22] Page 440 https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/470842main_X_15_Frontier_of_Flight.pdf

[23] Page 444

[24] https://appel.nasa.gov/2014/10/16/this-month-in-nasa-history-the-x-15-program-set-a-record-for-speed/#:~:text=Asked%20Questions%20(FAQ's)-,This%20Month%20in%20NASA%20History%3A%20The%20X%2D15%20Program,Set%20a%20Record%20for%20Speed&text=The%20X%2D15A%2D2%20in,and%20additional%20external%20fuel%20tanks.&text=On%20October%203%2C%201967%2C%20U.S.,aircraft%20landed%20charred%20and%20broken.

Thank you to AP Archive for access to their archival footage.

Music by Epidemic Sound: http://epidemicsound.com/creator

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