X-Planes from the X-1 to the X-60: An Illustrated History

Foreword by Dr. Roger D. Launius, Former NASA Chief Historian

For the past 75 years, the U.S. government has invested significant time and money into advanced aerospace research, as evidenced by its many experimental X-plane aircraft and rockets. NASA's X-Planes asks a simple question: What have we gained from it all?

To answer this question, the authors provide a comprehensive overview of the X-plane’s long history, from the 1946 X-1 to the modern X-60. The chapters describe not just t...