Science: Deep Blue Yonder

Even to a seasoned veteran of the clouds like Air Force Major Robert White, 36, it was exhilarating up there, higher than man had ever flown before.

His voice crackled in the earphones of earthbound observers at Edwards Air Force Base in California’s sprawling, sundrenched Mojave Desert. “This is fantastic,” White cried. “This is really fantastic up here.” At that moment, he was an estimated 131,000 ft. above the earth, nearly 25 miles. He was flying a rocket-powered X-15, North American’s Black Dart, which only eight days before had set another record—traveling at the fastest speed in history, 2,196 m.p.h.

What did he see? “It was a very deep blue, but not exactly like night. There was a distinct contrast. Your view encompasses three distinct bands—the earth, the light blue of the sky and then the very deep blue of extreme altitude. At the altitude I normally fly—40,000 to 50,000 ft. —I can see hundreds of square miles of the earth’s surface. This time, I took in ten times that much.”

In science’s swift-moving state, the present achievements of the Xis are but a prelude to what is expected of it when it is outfitted with new high-powered rocket engines this fall. Says Test Pilot White exultantly: “I would have no qualms about going higher.”