I'm sure that 99.99999% of the people in the US would have no idea what NASA 008 did the last 50 years. Anyway, 008 replaced a B-29 early on in the X-plane years. The aircraft, a "B" model built in 1952 and first flown on June 11, 1955, is the oldest B-52 in flying status (was) and has been used on some of the most significant research projects in aerospace history.
Some of the significant projects supported by 008 include the X-15, the lifting bodies, HiMAT (highly maneuverable aircraft technology), Pegasus, validation of parachute systems developed for the space shuttle program (solid-rocket-booster recovery system and the orbiter drag chute system), and the X-38.
Old 008 (Balls Eight, get it??) served as the launch vehicle on 106 X-15 flights and flew a total of 159 captive-carry and launch missions in support of that program from June 1959 to October 1968. Information gained from the highly successful X-15 program contributed to the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo human spaceflight programs as well as space shuttle program. Between 1966 and 1975, the B-52 served as the launch aircraft for 127 of the 144 wingless lifting body flights. In the 1970s and 1980s, the B-52 was the launch aircraft for several aircraft at what is now the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, to study spin-stall, high-angle-of attack, and maneuvering characteristics. These included the 3/8-scale F-15/spin research vehicle (SRV), the HiMAT (Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology) research vehicle, and the DAST (drones for aerodynamic and structural testing). The aircraft supported the development of parachute recovery systems used to recover the space shuttle solid rocket booster casings. It also supported eight orbiter (space shuttle) drag chute tests in 1990. In addition, the B-52 served as the air launch platform for the first six Pegasus space boosters.
Built originally by the Boeing Company, NASA 008 is powered by eight Pratt & Whitney J57-19 turbojet engines, each of which produce 12,000 pounds of thrust. The aircraft's normal launch speed has been Mach 0.8 (about 530 miles per hour) and its normal drop altitude has been 40,000 to 45,000 feet. It is 156 feet long and has a wing span of 185 feet. The heaviest load it has carried was the No. 2 X-15 aircraft at 53,100 pounds.
BTW, the X-15 was flown over a period of nearly 10 years (Jun 59 to Oct 68) and set the world's unofficial speed and altitude records of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7) and 354,200 feet in a program to investigate all aspects of manned hypersonic flight. Remember those exciting years of aero/space flight research?? Man, I sure do. Yeah, 354,200 feet is over 67 miles above the ground. That was Joe Walkers' last flight in a X-15 and the 91st project flight and he got his astronaut wings...
And zero-zero-eight dropped 106 of those 199 flights made by all the X-15s!!
Yep! Sounds like she was "spared"
