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Lent by Langley Research Center
The Martin X-24A lifting body flew on its first powered flight on March
19, 1970. After twenty-eight flights the X-24A was a rebuilt into an
X-24B, a more advanced version with a delta wing that offered greater
lift and a speed of 1,163 miles per hour to an altitude of more than
74,000 feet. The X-24B made thirty-six flights between 1973 and 1975.
The X-24C model shown here was a further development that was not
realized. As with earlier lifting bodies, such as the conceptual Boeing
X-20 Dyna-Soar (1959) and the actual Northrop HL-10 (1966-72), these
experimental craft will have paved the way for future space planes to
come.
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