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Martin Marietta X-24
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<p>The Martin Marietta X-24 is an American experimental aircraft developed from a joint <a href="/facts/United_States_Air_Force/7MxWBYlc">United States Air Force</a>-<a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a> program named PILOT (1963–1975). It was designed and built to test <a href="/facts/Lifting_body/SHHlbp5B">lifting body</a> concepts, experimenting with the concept of unpowered reentry and landing, later used by the <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle/7BoyetEv">Space Shuttle</a>. Originally built as the X-24A, the aircraft was later rebuilt as the X-24B. </p><p>The X-24 was <a href="/facts/Drop_launch/W4YFVaqF">drop launched</a> from a modified <a href="/facts/Boeing_B-52_Stratofortress/uIXzSmPy">B-52 Stratofortress</a> at high altitudes before igniting its rocket engine; after expending its rocket fuel, the pilot would <a href="/facts/Gliding_flight/2f9Lawgc">glide</a> the X-24 to an unpowered landing. </p>