On November 15, 1967, Adams flew X-15 Flight 191 (also known as X-15 Flight 3-65-97) aboard the X-15-3, one of three planes in the X-15 fleet. Flying to an altitude above 50 miles, Adams qualified as an astronaut according to the United States definition of the boundary of space. Moments later the craft broke apart, killing Adams and destroying the X-15-3. He was the first American space mission fatality by the American convention.
Adams's seventh X-15 flight, Flight 3-65-97, took place on November 15, 1967.[3][4] He reached a peak altitude of 266,000 feet (81 km); the nose of the aircraft was off heading by 15 degrees to the right. While descending, at 230,000 feet (70 km) the aircraft encountered rapidly increasing aerodynamic pressure which impinged on the airframe, causing the X-15 to enter a violent Mach 5 spin. As the X-15 neared 65,000 feet (20 km), it was diving at Mach 3.93 and experiencing more than 15 g vertically (positive and negative), and 8 g laterally, which inevitably exceeded the design limits of the aircraft. The aircraft broke up 10 minutes and 35 seconds after launch, killing Adams. The United States Air Force posthumously awarded him Astronaut Wings for his last flight.[citation needed]
An excerpt from NASA's biography page on Mike Adams discusses findings from the crash investigation:
Ground parties scoured the countryside looking for wreckage; critical to the investigation was the film from the cockpit camera. The weekend after the accident, an unofficial FRC (Fleet Readiness Centers) search party found the camera; disappointingly, the film cartridge was nowhere in sight. Engineers theorized that the film cassette, being lighter than the camera, might be further away, blown north by winds at altitude. FRC (Fleet Readiness Centers) engineer Victor Horton organized a search and on 29 November, during the first pass over the area, Willard E. Dives found the cassette. Most puzzling was Adams's complete lack of awareness of major heading deviations in spite of accurately functioning cockpit instrumentation. The accident board concluded that he had allowed the aircraft to deviate as the result of a combination of distraction, misinterpretation of his instrumentation display, and possible vertigo. The electrical disturbance early in the flight degraded the overall effectiveness of the aircraft's control system and further added to pilot workload. The MH-96 adaptive control system then caused the airplane to break up during reentry.[2]
His remains were buried at the Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery, Monroe, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana.
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Michael James Adams May 5 1930 November 15 1967 Maj USAF was an American aviator aeronautical engineer and USAF astronaut 1 He was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X 15 an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the Air Force and NASA Michael J AdamsAdams in 1967 standing next to a X 15 planeBornMichael James Adams 1930 05 05 May 5 1930Sacramento California U S DiedNovember 15 1967 1967 11 15 aged 37 Near Johannesburg California U S Resting placeMulhearn Memorial Park CemeteryAlma materSacramento City CollegeUniversity of Oklahoma B S 1958Occupation s Fighter pilot test pilotSpace careerUSAF astronautRankMajor USAFSelection1965 USAF MOL Group 1MissionsX 15 Flight 191 On November 15 1967 Adams flew X 15 Flight 191 also known as X 15 Flight 3 65 97 aboard the X 15 3 one of three planes in the X 15 fleet Flying to an altitude above 50 miles Adams qualified as an astronaut according to the United States definition of the boundary of space Moments later the craft broke apart killing Adams and destroying the X 15 3 He was the first American space mission fatality by the American convention Contents 1 Background 1 1 Early life and military experience 1 2 Education and flight experience 1 3 Death 2 Awards and honors 3 Memorials 4 References 5 External linksBackground editEarly life and military experience edit Adams was born May 5 1930 in Sacramento California He graduated from Sacramento Junior College He enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1950 and earned his pilot wings and commission in 1952 at Webb Air Force Base Texas He served as a fighter bomber pilot during the Korean War where he flew 49 combat missions This was followed by 30 months with the 613th Fighter Bomber Squadron at England Air Force Base Louisiana and six months rotational duty at Chaumont Air Base in France 2 Education and flight experience edit In 1958 Adams received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma and after 18 months of astronautics study at Massachusetts Institute of Technology was selected in 1962 for the U S Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base California Here he won the A B Honts Trophy as the best scholar and pilot in his class Adams subsequently attended the Aerospace Research Pilot School ARPS graduating with honors in December 1963 He was one of four Edwards aerospace research pilots to participate in a five month series of NASA Moon landing practice tests at the Martin Company in Baltimore Maryland In November 1965 he was selected to be an astronaut in the United States Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory program In July 1966 Major Adams came to the North American X 15 program a joint USAF NASA project He made his first X 15 flight on October 6 1966 2 Death edit nbsp Firefighters survey the wreckage of Adams s X 15 Adams s seventh X 15 flight Flight 3 65 97 took place on November 15 1967 3 4 He reached a peak altitude of 266 000 feet 81 km the nose of the aircraft was off heading by 15 degrees to the right While descending at 230 000 feet 70 km the aircraft encountered rapidly increasing aerodynamic pressure which impinged on the airframe causing the X 15 to enter a violent Mach 5 spin As the X 15 neared 65 000 feet 20 km it was diving at Mach 3 93 and experiencing more than 15 g vertically positive and negative and 8 g laterally which inevitably exceeded the design limits of the aircraft The aircraft broke up 10 minutes and 35 seconds after launch killing Adams The United States Air Force posthumously awarded him Astronaut Wings for his last flight citation needed An excerpt from NASA s biography page on Mike Adams discusses findings from the crash investigation Ground parties scoured the countryside looking for wreckage critical to the investigation was the film from the cockpit camera The weekend after the accident an unofficial FRC Fleet Readiness Centers search party found the camera disappointingly the film cartridge was nowhere in sight Engineers theorized that the film cassette being lighter than the camera might be further away blown north by winds at altitude FRC Fleet Readiness Centers engineer Victor Horton organized a search and on 29 November during the first pass over the area Willard E Dives found the cassette Most puzzling was Adams s complete lack of awareness of major heading deviations in spite of accurately functioning cockpit instrumentation The accident board concluded that he had allowed the aircraft to deviate as the result of a combination of distraction misinterpretation of his instrumentation display and possible vertigo The electrical disturbance early in the flight degraded the overall effectiveness of the aircraft s control system and further added to pilot workload The MH 96 adaptive control system then caused the airplane to break up during reentry 2 His remains were buried at the Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery Monroe Ouachita Parish Louisiana Awards and honors editDuring his military career he was awarded Astronaut Wings posthumously Air Medal Air Force Commendation Medal Korean Service Medal United Nations Service Medal for Korea National Defense Service Medal with 1 Bronze Service Star Air Force Longevity Service Award with 4 clusters Air Force Good Conduct Medal A B Honts Trophy 5 Memorials editIn 1991 Adams s name was added to the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida On June 8 2004 a memorial monument to Adams was erected near the crash site northwest of Randsburg California 6 References edit Evans Michelle June 1 2013 Burgess Colin ed The X 15 Rocket Plane Flying the First Wings Into Space Outward Odyssey A People s History of Spaceflight Lincoln London University of Nebraska Press pp 362 401 ISBN 978 0 8032 2840 5 a b c NASA Michael J Adams X 15 Biographies Retrieved September 12 2020 Thompson Milton O August 6 2013 At the Edge of Space The X 15 Flight Program Smithsonian Institution ISBN 978 1 58834 386 4 Jenkins Dennis R Dana William H December 8 2010 X 15 Extending the Frontiers of Flight CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform ISBN 978 1 4700 2585 4 Barnes Thornton D Maj Mike Adams X 15 Crash The 27th Astronaut of the United States killed at end of project Thornton D Barnes Archived from the original on July 17 2020 Retrieved September 12 2020 X 15A Crash Check Six August 25 2018 Retrieved September 12 2020 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michael J Adams nbsp Biography portal Michael J Adams at nasa gov Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Michael J Adams amp oldid 1214619550, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
