America entered the Space Age on the night of the 31st January 1958 when Explorer 1 was placed into Earth orbit from Launch Complex 26. Explorer 1 carried a Geiger counter designed by Dr. James Van Allen of the University of Iowa. The counter discovered a belt of trapped radiation surrounding the Earth which was later named the Van Allen radiation belt. Explorer 1 was orbited by the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency team.
Other launches from Launch Complex 26 included additional Explorer and Pioneer satellites; the suborbital launch and safe return of the Monkeys Able, Baker and Gordo; developmental flights of Redstone, Jupiter, Jupiter-C and Juno, and training launches for Turkish and Italian NATO crews.
This is a wonderful relic card issued by the Air Force Space & Missile Museum at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Along with detailing the history of the Explorer 1 satellite and Launch Complex 26, the card reads; "The attached fragment of metal is a piece of the gantry at Launch Complex 26 in which the Explorer 1 satellite and its booster were prepared for launch". Illustrated and very informative. Measures 8.5" x 4".

A Brief Introduction.....

The X-15 Hypersonic Research programme was a joint endeavour between NASA, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy and North American Aviation. The aircraft flew 191 flights over a period of ten years and set the world's unofficial speed and altitude records of 4,520mph (Mach 6.7) and 354,200ft. Investigating all aspects of piloted hypersonic flight, the highly successful X-15 programme contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacecraft as well as the Space Shuttle.

There were three X-15 aircraft, manufactured by North American Aviation and a total of 199 flights. North American (and former NACA) pilot Scott Crossfield made the first flight on the 8th June 1959 and NASA's test pilot William Dana made the final flight of the programme on the 24th October 1968. There were ten other pilots making a total flight team of 12 test pilots. Five were from NASA, five from the U.S. Air Force, one from the U.S. Navy and one from North American.

The X-15 was the highest performing experimental aircraft of all time. It regularly reached hypersonic speeds five times the speed of sound and 50 mile altitudes, giving several of its pilots astronaut status. A rocket powered aircraft 50ft long with a wingspan of 22ft, it was a missile-shaped vehicle with an unusual wedge-shaped vertical tail, thin stubby wings, and unique side fairings that extended along the side of the fuselage. The rocket engine was pilot controlled and was capable of developing 57,000lb of thrust.

The X-15 research aircraft was developed to provide in-flight information and data on aerodynamics, structures, flight controls, and the physiological aspects of high-speed, high-altitude flight. A follow on programme used the aircraft as a testbed to carry various scientific experiments beyond the Earth's atmosphere on a repeated basis.

Because of the large fuel consumption, the X-15 was air launched from a B-52 aircraft at 45,000ft and a speed of about 500mph. Depending on the mission, the rocket engine provided thrust for the first 80 to 120 seconds of flight. The remainder of the normal 10 to 11 minute flight was powerless and ended with a 200mph glide landing.

On the 15th November 1967, United States Air Force pilot Michael Adams piloted the X-15 on its 191st flight and its 9th space flight. This was his 7th flight of the programme, and his last..........

Although an electrical disturbance distracted him and slightly degraded the control of the aircraft, he was still able to reach a peak altitude of 266,000ft. During the planned wing-rocking maneuver, the wing rocking became excessive and the aircraft started to drift off heading. At 230,000ft, encountering rapidly increasing dynamic pressures, the X-15 entered a Mach 5 spin.
Adams was able to recover from the spin but then went into a steep Mach 4.7 dive due to a technical problem with the adaptive flight control system which began a limit-cycle oscillation just as the plane came out of the spin, preventing the system's gain changer from reducing pitch as dynamic pressure increased. The X-15 began a rapid pitching motion of increasing severity, shooting downward at 160,000ft per minute with dynamic pressure increasing intolerably. As the X-15 neared the ground it was speeding downward at Mach 3.93 and experiencing over 15G.
The X-15 broke apart amid sonic detonations, striking the Majave Desert northeast of Johannesburg. Michael Adams was dead and the X-15 destroyed.

X-15 Crash Relic History
This is an actual piece of wreckage from the NASA/USAF X-15 # 3 which crashed in the Mojave Desert of California during flight 191 on the 15th November 1967 destroying the aircraft and killing pilot Michael Adams.
This and several other crash relics were collected from the crash site in the Spring of 2001 by the West Mojave Aviation Archaeology Team. The majority of the recovered wreckage now resides in museums but we were fortunate to acquire a number of the smaller nondescript relics in an exchange agreement. These crash relics remained a part of our private collection and "Aviation in Space" display which has now been retired. While we have retained 3 of the crash relics for our private collection, we wish to make the remaining 12 relics available for private acquisition throughout 2006. All relics are complete as found and NOT cut pieces from a once larger section.

Presentation
After liaising with collectors we were able to design and produce a stunning presentation. The crash relic has been cushioned within a 1" lucite canister and mounted within a 7.5" x 5.5" x 1.25" self-standing display case style frame with glass cover and internal mirrored border highlighting the X-15 crash relic and illustrated information. Instantly ready for display in any discerning collection. Each relic is accompanied by a signed letter of provenance from the founder of the WMAA, a series of photos relating to th X-15 # 3 and an official NASA publication highlighting the X-15 programme.

X-15 Crash Relic  - Aluminium Airframe Fragment In Custom Display Case

This documented X-15 # 3 crash relic has been identified as a fragment of the X-15 aluminim airframe. It remains in its full 'as found' condition.
It has been custom mounted and framed upon a quality image of the X-15 # 3 along with the declaration "This is an actual piece of wreckage from the NASA / USAF X-15 # 3 which crashed in the Mojave Desert of California during flight 191 on the 15th November 1967 destroying the aircraft and claiming the life of pilot Major Michael J. Adams.".
For further certification of authenticity; around the outer edge of the illustration (hidden by the display frame but visible if removed) is a further declaration stating when the relic was recovered, by whom and that it's accompanied by a signed letter of provenance from the founder of the WMAA. This letter is enclosed in the back of the frame so that it remains with the crash relic.
An official NASA publication highlighting the X-15 is also included, along with a set of 8 mini-photos relating to the X-15 # 3 crash including two rarely seen images of the actual crash itself.

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