Today, March 17 2006, the X-Plane stamp is released in New York, NY 10199. This release is on day two of the Mega Stamp Show. Format is a Single $4.05 Priority Mail stamp and pane of 20.

Stamp designer Phil Jordan, of Falls Church, VA, really went to the source for this look at the X-Plane. Jordan selected a computer-generated image of the X-15 from NASA studies. The stamp shows the X-15 rotated upward to reveal the most surface area. The design includes a ghosted “X” on the left side of the stamp and text under the image reading, “Computer-generated aerodynamic study of an X-Plane.”

The X-15 program was a joint effort by NASA, the Air Force, and the Navy. It’s internal structure is titanium and skin surface is a chrome-nickel alloy known as Inconel X. The X-15 first, unpowered glide flight was on June 8, 1959. Later the first powered flight happened September 17, 1959. Due to the aircrafts rocket engine, fuel consumption was intense. Thus the X-15 was air launched from a B-52 aircraft at about 45,000 ft and speeds upward of 500 mph. The airplane first set speed records in the Mach 4-6 range and later Mach 5.27 on June 23, 1961; It also set an altitude record of 354,200 feet (67 miles) on August 22, 1963. The highly successful program contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo piloted spaceflight programs as well as the Space Shuttle program. The program’s final flight was performed on October 24, 1968.