Schlieren photo: X-15

aircraft, history, photography, rockets, science, spacecraft

Aug 282011

A NASA photo of an X-15 model in a supersonic wind tunnel, showing the myriad shockwaves spilling off every protrusion and corner.

2 Responses to “Schlieren photo: X-15”

Pat Flannery says:

August 28, 2011 at 2:04 pm

That’s one of the really classic NASA photos, I’ve seen it in books three or four times before.
The support holding the model is putting out quiet a few shockwaves itself.
MrTolliver says:

August 28, 2011 at 11:54 pm

Oblique shockwaves

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