Maj. Robert M. White, X-15 test pilot

Maj. Robert M. "Bob" White in the cockpit of an X-15 rocket plane at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. He became the first pilot to exceed Mach 4, 5 and 6 in the X-15 in 1961. On July 17, 1962, he became the first to fly it in space. (Courtesy photo)

Joe Walker, a test pilot from NASA

On Aug. 22, 1963, Joe Walker, a test pilot from NASA, flew the X-15 to its peak altitude of 354,200 feet, 67 miles above the Earth's surface at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. (Courtesy photo)

X-15

The X-15 in flight. (Courtesy photo)

Lifting Bodies

Lifting Bodies: (from left) X-24A, M2-F3 and HL-10.

X-35

The X-35 Joint Strike Fighter demontrator

X-45A

The X-45A Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle technology demonstrator releases an inert precision-guided weapon. (Courtesy photo)

Brig. Gen. David J. Eichhorn

Brig. Gen. David J. Eichhorn, Air Force Flight Test Center commander. (U.S. Air Force photo)

C-17 makes first flight on synthetic fuel blend

A C-17 Globemaster III taxis past the control tower at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on Oct. 19, 2007. The early-morning flight marked the first flight of the C-17 using a Fischer-Tropsch synthetic fuel blend in one of its engines. All four engines ran the fuel blend in subsequent tests. (U.S. Air Force photo/Jim Shryne)

1st Wing at Rogers Dry Lake

Overhead view of the Army Air Corps 1st Wing bivouacked on Rogers Dry Lake, Calif. in 1936. (Courtesy photo)

1st Wing aircraft

Overhead view of aircraft from the1st Wing of the Army Air Corps parked on the lake bed adjacent to the tent encampment at Muroc, Calif., in 1936. (Courtesy photo)

XP-86

The North American XP-86 made its first flight Oct. 1, 1947. In 1948, the Air Force changed the "P" designation (Pursuit) to "F" (Fighter), and when the aircraft was added to the inventory, it was named the Sabre. (Courtesy photo)

Bell X-1

The first supersonic flight flown on Oct. 14, 1947 with the Bell X-1. (Courtesy photo)

Capt. Charles E. Yeager

Capt. Charles E. Yeager seated in the cockpit of the Bell X-1 supersonic research aircraft. He became the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound on Oct. 14, 1947. (Courtesy photo)

Capt. Chuck Yeager

Capt. Chuck Yeager with Maj. Arthur Murray and the X-1A. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Northrop YB-49

The YB-49 is photographed at the Northrop facility, Hawthorne, Calif., Dec. 23, 1948. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Convair X-F-92A

The Convair X-F-92A flies a test mission. The aircraft was a delta-wing concept demonstrator. (Courtesy photo)

Lt. Col Frank K. "Pete" Everest

Lt. Col Frank K. "Pete" Everest set the last low altitude world absolute speed record when he piloted the YF-100 to 755 mph, Oct. 29, 1953. He subsequently piloted the rocket-powered Bell X-2 to a record speed of Mach 2.87 or 1,900 mph in June 1956. (Courtesy photo)

North American YF-100A

The YF-100A, the first aircraft to exceed Mach 1 on its first flight, flies over the North Base of Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on its first flight May 25, 1953. (Courtesy photo)

D-558-2 Skyrocket

The D-558-2 Skyrocket is towed on the lakebed of Rogers Dry Lake, Calif. (Courtesy NASA photo)

A. Scott Crossfield, test pilot

A. Scott Crossfield with the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket after his record-breaking Mach 2 flight, Nov. 20, 1953. In 1993, NASA awarded him the Distinguished Public Service Medal for his contributions to aeronautics and aviation for 50 years. (Courtesy NASA photo)

Maj. Charles "Chuck" Yeager and the Bell X-1A

Maj. Charles "Chuck" Yeager and the Bell X-1A at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Yeager reached speed of Mach 2.44, at an altitude of 75,000 feet on Dec. 12, 1953, a speed record at the time. It wasn't a perfect flight -- the aircraft encountered an inertial coupling phenomenon and went out of control. Yeager was able to recover it and return to the base. (Courtesy photo)

XF-104, prototype for the F-104 Starfighter

The XF-104 from Lockheed taxis on Rogers Dry Lake, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. in the 1950s. The XF-104 is distinguished by the lack of inlet shock cones and the short fuselage. (U.S. Air Force photo)

X-2 in the mid-1950s

The X-2 rocket plane in flight during the mid-1950s. (Courtesy NASA photo)

X-2 pilots, Capts. Iven Kinchloe and Mel Apt

Capts. Iven C. Kinchloe (left) and Mel Apt pose with the Bell X-2 rocket-powered aircraft. Captain Kinchloe climbed to 126,200 feet altitude in the X-2 Sept. 7, 1956. Captain Apt reached a speed of Mach 3.2 -- three times the speed of sound -- in the aircraft before it tumbled out of control and he was killed attempting to bail out on Sept. 27, 1956. (U.S. Air Force photo)