Michael J. Adams | |
|---|---|
 Adams in 1967 standing next to aX-15 plane | |
| Born | Michael James Adams (1930-05-05)May 5, 1930 Sacramento, California, U.S. |
| Died | November 15, 1967(1967-11-15) (aged 37) NearJohannesburg, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Alma mater | Sacramento City College University of Oklahoma, B.S. 1958 |
| Occupation(s) | Fighter pilot,test pilot |
| Space career | |
| USAFastronaut | |
| Rank | Major,USAF |
| Selection | 1965 USAF MOL Group 1 |
| Missions | X-15 Flight 191 |
Michael James Adams (May 5, 1930 – November 15, 1967) (MajUSAF) was an Americanaviator,aeronautical engineer, and USAFastronaut.[1] He was one of twelve pilots who flew theNorth American X-15, an experimentalspaceplane jointly operated by the Air Force andNASA.
On November 15, 1967, Adams flewX-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 tothe 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 Americanspace mission fatality by the American convention.
Adams was born May 5, 1930, inSacramento, California. He graduated fromSacramento Junior College. He enlisted in theUnited States Air Force in 1950, and earned hispilot wings and commission in 1952 atWebb Air Force Base,Texas. He served as afighter-bomber pilot during theKorean War, where he flew 49combat missions. This was followed by 30 months with the613th Fighter-Bomber Squadron atEngland Air Force Base,Louisiana, and six months rotational duty atChaumont Air Base in France.[2]
In 1958, Adams received aBachelor of Science degree inAeronautical Engineering from theUniversity of Oklahoma and, after 18 months ofastronautics study atMassachusetts Institute of Technology, was selected in 1962 for theU.S. Air Force Test Pilot School atEdwards Air Force Base,California. Here, he won the A.B. Honts Trophy as the best scholar and pilot in his class. Adams subsequently attended theAerospace 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 ofNASAMoon landing practice tests at theMartin Company inBaltimore, Maryland. In November 1965, he was selected to be an astronaut in theUnited States Air ForceManned Orbiting Laboratory program. In July 1966,Major Adams came to theNorth American X-15 program, a joint USAF/NASA project. He made his first X-15 flight on October 6, 1966.[2]
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 increasingaerodynamic pressure which impinged on the airframe, causing the X-15 to enter a violentMach 5 spin. As the X-15 neared 65,000 feet (20 km), it was diving at Mach 3.93 and experiencing more than 15g 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 himAstronaut Wings for his last flight.[citation needed]
An excerpt from NASA's biography page on Mike Adams discusses findings from the crash investigation:
His remains were buried at the Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery,Monroe,Ouachita Parish, Louisiana.
During his military career he was awarded:
In 1991, Adams's name was added to theSpace Mirror Memorial at theKennedy Space Center inFlorida.
On June 8, 2004, a memorial monument to Adams was erected near the crash site, northwest ofRandsburg, California.[6]
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