EG-0063-01
The first flight of the M2-F2 – which looked much like the M2-F1 – occurred on July 12, 1966 with Thompson again at the controls. By then, the same B-52 used to air launch the famed X-15 rocket research aircraft had been modified to also carry the lifting bodies into the air. The M2-F2 was dropped from the B-52’s wing pylon mount at an altitude of 45,000 feet on that maiden glide flight.
The M2-F2 weighed 4,620 pounds without ballast, was roughly 22 feet long, and had a width of about 10 feet.
On May 10, 1967, during the 16th glide flight, a landing accident severely damaged the vehicle and seriously injured the NASA pilot, Bruce Peterson. (Film footage of the crash was later used in the opening sequence of the popular 1970s-era television show, “The Six-million Dollar Man.”)…Learn more