In support of an official event 

The Museum will be closed Sunday, May 25
In addition, the Presidential Gallery will be closed Saturday, May 24

Normal hours will resume on Monday, May 26
 

Simulated Ramjet

Note: This item is currently in storage.

Following its modification for an extended performance program, the X-15A-2 was to have served in the late 1960s as a testbed for hypersonic ramjet engines. This is one of the simulated ramjet engine shells, designed to test the aerodynamics of the proposed engine configuration. On each of the last three flights conducted with the X-15A-2, a similar shell was mounted beneath the rear of the fuselage.

The X-15A-2 flight-test program was canceled before the aircraft ever carried an actual ramjet engine aloft.

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