Space: Both Sides of the Ball?

While the world was wondering whether the U.S. or Russia could blast a man into space with rockets and bring him back alive, a California test pilot proved last week that the mundane manned airplane is still a fairly handy get-up-and-go device. Above the shimmering mirages of California's Mojave Desert, Veteran Test Pilot Joseph Albert Walker rode the nation's most advanced research craft—the North American X-15—to a height of 169,600 ft. (32.12 miles). Walker's flight lifted him farther from earth than man has gone before and provided a strong hint that the winged aircraft may provide a very feasible way...

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