Abstract
The X-15 was a critical research vehicle in the early days of space flight. On November 15, 1967, the X-15-3 suffered an in-flight breakup. It was the 191st flight of the X-15 and the 65th flight of this third configuration (X-15-3). It was the only fatal accident of the X-15 program. This paper presents an analysis, from a human factors perspective, of the events that led up to the accident. The analysis is based on the information contained in the report of the Air Force-NASA Accident Investigation Board (AIB) dated January 1968. Although the X-15 accident occurred in 1967, the results of the presented analysis are as relevant today as they were 47 years ago. We present the main points of our analysis and discuss their implications for the safety of space operations.
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Notes
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The IFDS installed in the X-15 consisted of an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a computer, and pilot's displays of pitch, roll, and heading (which were presented on a three-axis attitude indicator) total earth reference velocity, rate of climb, and geometric height.
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Barshi, I., Statler, I.C., Orr, J.S. (2015). The Human Factors of an early space accident: Flight 3-65 of the X-15.. In: Sgobba, T., Rongier, I. (eds) Space Safety is No Accident. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15982-9_32
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15982-9_32
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