Martin X-24B. The X-24B aircraft showed that a “lifting body” could glide through the atmosphere and make a precise landing on a runway like an airplane. A lifting body is a fixed-wing air or spacecraft in which the body itself produces lift. X-24 studies supported space shuttle development in the early 1970s. The U.S. Air Force, NASA and Martin Aircraft (now Lockheed Martin) heavily modified the X-24A to make a higher-performing vehicle, the X-24B.
TECHNICAL NOTES:
Crew: One
Engines: One Reaction Motors XLR-11 rocket of 9,800 lbs. thrust; two Bell LLRV optional landing rockets of 500 lbs. thrust each
Maximum speed: 1,164 mph (Mach 1.76)
Ceiling: 74,100 feet