04/20/06: X-15 Pilot Scott Crossfield Killed in Plane Crash. Scott Crossfield, reknowned test pilot, has been killed in a single-engine plane crash in Georgia. He was 84 years old. As part of the elite test pilot cadre at the NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station - now NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Mojave, California - Crossfield flew a series of test planes, logging 87 rocket flights and 12 jet flights in the early 1950's. He was born in California in 1921, attended the University of Washington, and served in the Navy in World War 2. In 1950, Scott joined the predecessor to NASA, the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics. Scott made aviation history on November 20, 1953, by being the first person to fly at more than Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound). A B29 'mother ship' climbed to an altitude of 9.75 km (32,000 ft) and dropped a Skyrocket, which was piloted by Scott Crossfield. He lit the engines of the Skyrocket, which climbed to nearly 22 km (72,000 ft), then went into a shallow dive. Scott's Mach meter passed '2', over 2,124 km per hour (1,320 miles per hour), before the aircraft's fuel supply became exhausted. Crossfield guided the X-15 on its first free flight in 1959. He went on to fly the first two X-15's a total of 14 times, eventually flying higher than 26.822 km (88,000 ft) and reaching 3,154 km per hour (1,960 miles per hour), nearly Mach 3. Scott Crossfield later served as a System Director for North American Aviation, working on engineering and quality assurance for the Apollo spacecraft. He worked for Eastern Airlines and Hawker Siddley Aviation, and served as a consultant to the House Committe on Science and Technology. In 1993, NASA awarded him the Distinguished Public Service Medal for his contributions to aeronautics and aviation over nearly 50 years. Scott Crossfield in his D-558-II Skyrocket. Crossfield launches in his D-558-II Skyrocket, November 20, 1953. Crossfield talks to reporters next to his D-558-II Skyrocket after the flight, November 20, 1953. High-Speed Research Station Director Walter C. Williams, Crossfield, and Director of Flight operations Joe Vensel, in front of the Skyrocket after the record-setting flight. After five years with NACA, Scott left to work for North American Aviation on the design and building of the X-15 rocket plane. Crossfield guided the X-15 on its first free flight in 1959. He went on to fly the first two X-15's a total of 14 times, eventually flying higher than 26.822 km (88,000 ft) and reaching 3,154 km per hour (1,960 miles per hour), nearly Mach 3. His work had helped pave the way for the first astronauts. The three X-15's flew at nearly seven times the speed of sound - about 7,434 km per hr (4, 619 miles per hour) . Volumes of test data from 199 X-15 missions helped shape the successful Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle human spaceflight programs. On 23 August, 2005, NASA awarded astronaut wings to three X-15 test pilots: Bill Dana, John McKay and Joseph Walker. The wings acknowledged the fact the pilots flew the X-15 at altitudes of 50 miles or higher. Test pilots Neil Armstrong, Scott Crossfield, John B. McKay, Joe Walker, William Bridgeman, Iven Kincheloe, Robert Rushworth, Alvin White and Robert White were selected for the 'Man in Space Soonest' program, which was to later become Project Mercury. Yuri Gagarin in Vostok 1 beat them to it on April 12, 1961. X-15 pilot Neil Armstrong went on to Gemini 8 (1966) and Apollo 11 (1969) and was the first human to step onto the surface of the Moon. X-15 pilot Joe Engle later was second Commander of STS-ALT Enterprise in 1977 and was on three of the eight flights (the first was Fred Haise of Apollo 13, who commanded five), and went on to command two Space Shuttle missions: STS-2 and STS-51-I. 04/20/06: NASA Administrator Statement Regarding the Tragic Loss of Aviation Pioneer A. Scott Crossfield: "Scott Crossfield was a true pioneer whose daring X-15 flights helped pave the way for the space shuttle. NASA remembers Scott not only as one of the greatest pilots who ever flew, but as an expert aeronautical engineer, aerodynamicist, and designer who made significant contributions to the design and development of the X-15 research aircraft and to systems test, reliability engineering, and quality assurance for the Apollo command and service modules and Saturn V second stage. Today, those of us in the aeronautics and space communities extend our condolences and deepest sympathies to Scott's family." Crossfield made aeronautical history in 1953 when he reached a speed of more than 1,320 mph, or Mach 2, in a Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket. He played an important role in the agency's highly successful X-15 research aircraft program in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He flew most of the early experimental X-series research aircraft for NASA's predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. In 1993, Crossfield was honored with the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal for his contributions to aeronautics research and development over his historic 50 year career. - courtesy of NASA; additional text: DJC (Editor); image credits: NASA / Edwards Air Force Base Lord, guard and guide the men who fly Through the great spaces in the sky. Be with them always in the air, In darkening storms or sunlight fair; Oh, hear us when we lift our prayer, For those in peril in the air! Aloft in solitudes of space, Uphold them with Thy saving grace. Thou Who supports with tender might The balanced birds in all their flight. Lord, if the tempered winds be near, That, having Thee, they know no fear. Mary C. D. Hamilton (1915); music: The US Navy Hymn

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