Can you go around the earth? Do you wish to travel around the earth?
Earth is a beautiful planet inhabited by Humans. But Humans are Greedy. They want to rule the earth. But Humans wanted to explore Space. But it will not be an easy task. Earth has gravity. Flying against Gravity will be very hard and humans will require huge Power.
According to Scientists, there is a term called Escape Velocity. For One Second if you can travel 11.2 KMs or 40000 KM Per Hour. If humans can acquire this speed they can leave earth. Earth’s Gravity will not pull the spacecraft.
If you throw a stone into the sky and the speed remains 11.2 Km per second the Stone will leave earth. For every planet in our solar system, the escape velocity level differs. Mercury has only 4.25 Km. But for Neptune, it is 23.56 Km.
So if we travel at 11.2 per second. We can travel from the north to the South pole within 21 Minutes. The Military of the world will need this speed. They use it on Missiles. Humankind also needs this speed to travel to other planets.
How advanced Humans are in Escape Velocity?
Let’s discuss this in detail After discovering Escape Velocity, humans wanted to develop Hypersonic missiles. This started to happen in the 1940s. First, they need to build a Hypersonic Flight. America started its research. North American Aviation INC wanted to build this aircraft.
North American Aviation started this research before NASA was created. NASA was created on 1st Oct 1958. Sputnik was created on 4th Oct 1957 and was stationed in space. Before all this, North American Aviation started building Aircraft. After various tests, the aircraft could not take off.
So they needed a flight that can carry this flight and releases it midair. So they wanted to use the B-52 Bomber. The B-52 will release the aircraft and the engine will be started. X-15 was tested. The X-15 had a pilot. The X-15 will reach 5X the speed of Sound.
During the test, they got the data that was used to improve the aircraft. The first discovery was that Aircraft will easily catch fire at that speed. Due to air pressure, the Aircraft’s exterior was starting to break up. The Heat in the cockpit will be high and the Pilot was not safe.
These were the main three issues that must be solved. America wanted to create an Aircraft that can travel at high speed. They used Inconel X for the exterior of the aircraft.
The Pilot was given a pressurized suit. This suit can protect the pilot from extreme heat. They managed to solve the three issues. But they still needed an engine to reach the speed.
They faced many failures in engine development. They developed an engine in the 1960s. The Engine was named XLR99 rocket engine. The XLR99 horse Power was 6 Lakhs Horsepower. This engine can use 9 to 10 tons of fuel within 90 Seconds.
To reach the speed it will need 10 tons of fuel and it will burn it within 90 Seconds.
The B-52 was ready carried the X-15. was flying at 1 Lakh feet height. The X-15 was released. The X-15’s XLR99 engine was activated. The X-15 reached full throttle. On Oct 1067 they tested the X-15. The X-15 reached a speed that was 6.72 Times faster than Sound.
This is Mach6. The Speed was 4250 Miles per hour. This speed in only 18% of the Escape Velocity. They needed an engine that can produce the remaining 82%. This will happen Humans leave earth. Scientists started their research to build this new engine.
Until now they are doing their research and Humankind has not succeeded. The X-15 is the fastest aircraft in the world.
What did the X-15 use for?
Space companies have announced that they will be taking people to space. These companies are building Space Shuttles. The X-15 is the reason the Space Shuttles exist today. To reuse the Space Shuttles they depended on the X-15. The X-15 has taken 199 flights.
They even tried the X-15 to leave earth. Humans then build Space Shuttles. The Space shuttles were built from the results obtained from the testing of the X-15. They removed the Cons of the X-15 to build Space Shuttles. This is how the Space shuttles were created which took Humankind to space.
The X-15 flew vertically. Scientists wanted the X-15 to travel Horizontally. The X-15 reached 354,200 Feet. There was a pilot inside the X-15. When the X-15 began to freefall to earth. The risk of fire and gravity were there. There was an additional duel to be activated to reduce the speed.
Pilots took great risks to take part in these tests. These tests became very important for Humankind. Humans still are developing their own X Planes. The X-15 has only achieved only 18% of the Escape Velocity. When reaching the top Speed the Front portion of the X-15 Temperature was 1300 Degrees Fahrenheit. The Cockpit temperature reached 130 Degrees Fahrenheit.
Our Normal body Temperature is 98 Degrees Fahrenheit. The X-15 Cockpit temperature is 130 Degrees Fahrenheit. But the Pilot will be protected from the heat by the Suit. Pilots have registered that they did not feel the weight at that speed.
They conducted many tests and modifications. They tried to solve the issues through tests. So we have discussed Escape Velocity and X-15. But Humankind can only reach 18% of escape Velocity. It may take Generations to achieve the remaining 82%. If we reach 100% Escape Velocity we need aircraft which can sustain the pressure and heat.
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