Announcements

In the Line of Duty: Michael Adams and the X-15

An AIAA Distinguished Speaker Lecture, via Zoom

Wednesday, July 17th, 2024

presented by

Michelle Evans, Aerospace Communications Specialist, Author, and Founder of Mach 25 Media

The X-15 rocket plane was America’s premiere experimental research aircraft. It became the first manned craft to reach hypersonic velocities, and to create a new class of astronauts, ones who flew wings into space rather than rockets. The twelfth and final of these pilot/astronauts was Major Michael Adams from the US Air Force.

As soon as the first group of American astronauts was announced in 1959, Adams knew where his career would take him. He was twice forestalled in his attempts to reach space. First by losing a slot in the second group of American astronauts because of injuries sustained in an F-104 ejection, then by being chosen for the Air Force’s Manned Orbiting Laboratory, which was canceled when politics entered the fray.

Adams saw the X-15 as his new pathway to space, and was quickly accepted into that elite group, which included such legendary test pilots as Scott Crossfield, Joe Walker, and Neil Armstrong. Mike Adams was the only X-15 pilot to lose his life while flying the program. Because of this, few people know of him today.

Michelle Evans’ research for her book, “The X-15 Rocket Plane, Flying the First Wings into Space” led her to interview nearly 70 people connected to the program, including Adams’ wife, children, brother, and friends. Her unique perspective has been able to honor Major Michael J. Adams, and to bring him to life as one of the X-15 astronauts in her fascinating presentation. 

Michelle Evans is the founder of Mach 25 Media (www.Mach25Media.com) and is a writer, photographer, and communications specialist in aerospace. She has written the bestselling book “The X-15 Rocket Plane, Flying the First Wings into Space” which was published by the University of Nebraska Press as part of their “Outward Odyssey, People's History of Spaceflight” series.

Michelle's background in aerospace engineering includes serving in the US Air Force working on missile systems, and later in private industry accomplishing environmental testing for systems used in airliners and spacecraft. Her current work primarily involves exciting audiences about space exploration by speaking of the X-15 and other areas of the space program at venues across the country, as well as overseas.

Michelle is a Distinguished Speaker with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and her book on the X-15 was a finalist for the Eugene M. Emme Award for Astronautical Literature. Michelle received the Diverse Community Leader Award from Orange County Human Relations, and was recognized as number 3 on the Orange County Register’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in Orange County. She has appeared in numerous publications, including Air & Space Smithsonian, Ad Astra, Orange County Register, Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times. Michelle had feature stories about her life in both Time and Newsweek magazines. She was a technical consultant on the Neil Armstrong biopic “First Man,” and has consulted with National Geographic television for “The Real Right Stuff.”

The presentation will be on Wednesday, July 17th, 2024 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PDT via Zoom. The Zoom link for the meeting is below.