Michael James Adams
Encyclopedia
Michael James Adams was an American
aviator
, engineer
and USAF astronaut
. He was the first US space mission fatality, according to the US definition.
, California
, James graduated from Sacramento Junior College
. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1950 and earned his pilot wings and commission in 1952 at Webb Air Force Base
, Texas
. He served as a fighter-bomber
pilot during the Korean War
, followed by 30 months with the 813th Fighter-Bomber Squadron at England Air Force Base
, Louisiana
and six months rotational duty at Chaumont Air Base in France
.
, was selected in 1962 for the Experimental Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base
, California
. Here, he won the Honts Trophy as the best scholar and pilot in his class. Adams subsequently attended the Aerospace 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 of NASA moon landing
practice tests at the Martin Company in Baltimore, Maryland. In November, 1965 he was selected to be an astronaut in the United States Air Force
Manned Orbiting Laboratory
program. In July 1966, Major
Adams came to the North American X-15
program, a joint USAF/NASA project. He made his first X-15 flight on 6 October 1966 in the number one aircraft.
, took place on 15 November 1967. He reached a peak altitude of 266000 feet (81.1 km); the nose of the aircraft was off heading by 15 degrees to the right. While descending, at 230000 feet (70.1 km) the aircraft encountered rapidly increasing aerodynamic pressure
which impinged on the airframe, causing the X-15 to enter a violent Mach 5
spin. As the X-15 neared 65,000 feet, it was diving at Mach 3.93 and experiencing more than 15-g
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 him astronaut Wings for his last flight.
An excerpt from NASA's biography page on Mike Adams discusses findings from the crash investigation:
in Florida
.
On June 8, 2004 a memorial monument to Adams was erected near the crash site, northwest of Randsburg, California
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
, engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and USAF astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
. He was the first US space mission fatality, according to the US definition.
Military experience
Born in SacramentoSacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, James graduated from Sacramento Junior College
Sacramento City College
Sacramento City College is a two-year community college located in Sacramento, California. SCC is part of the Los Rios Community College District and had an enrollment of 25,307 in 2009. Sacramento City College is officially accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges , offering...
. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1950 and earned his pilot wings and commission in 1952 at Webb Air Force Base
Webb Air Force Base
Webb Air Force Base , previously named Big Spring Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force facility of the Air Training Command that operated from 1951 to 1977 in west Texas within the current city limits of Big Spring. It was a major training facility, and by 1969 almost 9,000 pilots had...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He served as a fighter-bomber
Fighter-bomber
A fighter-bomber is a fixed-wing aircraft with an intended primary role of light tactical bombing and also incorporating certain performance characteristics of a fighter aircraft. This term, although still used, has less significance since the introduction of rockets and guided missiles into aerial...
pilot during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, followed by 30 months with the 813th Fighter-Bomber Squadron at England Air Force Base
England Air Force Base
England Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Louisiana, located Northwest of Alexandria and about Northwest of New Orleans....
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and six months rotational duty at Chaumont Air Base in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Education and flight experience
In 1958, Adams received an aeronautical engineering degree from Oklahoma University and, after 18 months of astronautics study at Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, was selected in 1962 for the Experimental Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Here, he won the Honts Trophy as the best scholar and pilot in his class. Adams subsequently attended the Aerospace 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 of NASA moon landing
Moon landing
A moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both manned and unmanned missions. The first human-made object to reach the surface of the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2 mission on 13 September 1959. The United States's Apollo 11 was the first manned...
practice tests at the Martin Company in Baltimore, Maryland. In November, 1965 he was selected to be an astronaut in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Manned Orbiting Laboratory
Manned Orbiting Laboratory
The Manned Orbiting Laboratory , originally referred to as the Manned Orbital Laboratory, was part of the United States Air Force's manned spaceflight program, a successor to the cancelled Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar military reconnaissance space plane project...
program. In July 1966, Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Adams came to the North American X-15
North American X-15
The North American X-15 rocket-powered aircraft/spaceplane was part of the X-series of experimental aircraft, initiated with the Bell X-1, that were made for the USAAF/USAF, NACA/NASA, and the USN. The X-15 set speed and altitude records in the early 1960s, reaching the edge of outer space and...
program, a joint USAF/NASA project. He made his first X-15 flight on 6 October 1966 in the number one aircraft.
Death
Adams' seventh X-15 flight, flight 3-65-97X-15 Flight 3-65-97
X-15 Flight 3-65-97, also known as X-15 Flight 191, was a test flight of the North American X-15 experimental aircraft. It took place on November 15, 1967 and was piloted by Michael J. Adams...
, took place on 15 November 1967. He reached a peak altitude of 266000 feet (81.1 km); the nose of the aircraft was off heading by 15 degrees to the right. While descending, at 230000 feet (70.1 km) the aircraft encountered rapidly increasing aerodynamic pressure
Max Q
In aerospace engineering, the maximum dynamic pressure, often referred to as maximum Q or max Q, is the point at which aerodynamic stress on a vehicle in atmospheric flight is maximized...
which impinged on the airframe, causing the X-15 to enter a violent Mach 5
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
spin. As the X-15 neared 65,000 feet, it was diving at Mach 3.93 and experiencing more than 15-g
G-force
The g-force associated with an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. This acceleration experienced by an object is due to the vector sum of non-gravitational forces acting on an object free to move. The accelerations that are not produced by gravity are termed proper accelerations, and...
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 him astronaut Wings for his last flight.
An excerpt from NASA's biography page on Mike Adams discusses findings from the crash investigation:
- Ground parties scoured the countryside looking for wreckage; critical to the investigation was the film from the cockpit camera. The weekend after the accident, an unofficial FRC search party found the camera; disappointingly, the film cartridge was nowhere in sight. Engineers theorized that the film cassette, being lighter than the camera, might be further away, blown north by winds at altitude. FRC engineer Victor Horton organized a search and on 29 November, during the first pass over the area, Willard E. Dives found the cassette. Most puzzling was Adams' complete lack of awareness of major heading deviations in spite of accurately functioning cockpit instrumentation. The accident board concluded that he had allowed the aircraft to deviate as the result of a combination of distraction, misinterpretation of his instrumentation display, and possible vertigo. The electrical disturbance early in the flight degraded the overall effectiveness of the aircraft's control system and further added to pilot workload. The MH-96 adaptive control system then caused the airplane to break up during reentry.
Adams remembered
In 1991, Adams' name was added to the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space CenterKennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
On June 8, 2004 a memorial monument to Adams was erected near the crash site, northwest of Randsburg, California
Randsburg, California
Randsburg is a census-designated place in Kern County, California, United States. Randsburg is located south of Ridgecrest, at an elevation of 3504 feet . The population was 69 at the 2010 census, down from 77 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Randsburg is located at . It is on the west side of U.S...
.