How Fast Is X-15 Rocket Plane?

The X-15 rocket plane reached 7,274 km/h in 1967 — Mach 6.7, the fastest crewed aircraft ever flown. It also reached space at 108 km altitude — pilots above 80 km earned official astronaut wings, including a young Neil Armstrong.

The X-15 was air-launched from a B-52 bomber rather than the ground — saving fuel and allowing it to reach altitudes no ground-launched rocket plane could.

• Mach 6.7
• Pilots earned astronaut wings