NASA Dryden test pilot Michael J. Adams

Air Force test pilot Maj. Michael J. Adams stands beside X-15 ship number one. Adams was selected for the X-15 program in 1966 and made his first flight on Oct. 6, 1966. On Nov. 15, 1967, Adams made his seventh and final X-15 flight. The X-15 launched from the B-52, but during the ascent an electrical problem affected the X-15's control system. The aircraft crashed northwest of Cuddeback Lake, California, causing the death of Adams. He was posthumously awarded Air Force astronaut wings because his final flight exceeded 50 miles in altitude. Adams was the only pilot lost in the 199-flight X-15 program.

Date

1967-03-22

Photographer / author

NASA

Collection

AFRC

Archive

NASA Image and Video Library

Type

photograph

Need photos for a whole script? Add Find Any Photo to Claude and ask for this one by its id: 90815.