Pending design and qual testing of a permanent fix, it was agreed that the flight program could continue provided that LOX depletion shutdowns were avoided. To insure against a LOX run out, fuel was off loaded during servicing by jacking the B-52 so as to obtain an X-15 attitude of 4° nose up during fuel servicing. By using this method the total fuel load was reduced by approximately 76 gallons.

B. Relocated following switches in cockpit in accord with agreed upon "Standard X-15" configuration:

2. November 15, 1962. Accident Board was officially designated with D. R. Bellman as chairman. Findings of the Accident Board were subsequently released in a detailed report which was distributed during December 1962.

3. November 15, 1962 through December 6, 1962. Survey of reusable hardware from X-15-2 was carried on. Airframe components common to the remaining two X-15 vehicles were returned to NAA for repair under PRR system chargeable against the Call Contract. Separate listing of these components was maintained to assure immediate availability in the event that a decision was made to repair the vehicle.

4. December 7, 1962. Remains of X-15-2 were delivered by truck to the NAA Inglewood Factory for a 5 week examination period, during which NAA was requested to prepare a Time and Cost Proposal for repair, to be submitted at the end of the 5 weeks.

5. January, 1963. NAA submitted a proposal for rebuilding the X-15-2 and providing an increase in maximum speed to Mach 8, along with provisions for future installation of a 30" hydrogen ramjet prototype engine, for testing.

6. May 10, 1963. Official go-ahead was given by the government to NAA to proceed with the rebuilding of X-15-2 in accord with the proposal which called for completion in 39 weeks. A "Task Force" organization of engineers, planners, materials control personnel and manufacturing personnel was already in operation at NAA under the direction of H. A. Evans to accomplish the work.

7. June 5 through June 7, 1963. A meeting was held at NAA to resolve contractual details related to certain NASA requested items to be added on to the contract. Primary items on this list were:
 

8. February 15, 1964. X-15-2 was completed in final assembly at NAA and accepted by the AF exactly three weeks ahead of schedule. Delivery was made to NASA, EAFB, on Tuesday, February 18, 1962, and an "official" government acceptance for the press was held on Monday, February 24, 1964.

Since that date X-15-2 has been undergoing rigging, updating and calibration in preparation for the first flight in its new configuration.

This completes the historical resume' that spans the time between the crash of X-15-2 and its redelivery at EAFB.

2. Tankage & pressurization system for 90 gallons (80 usable) of liquid hydrogen added to 29" additional fuselage midsection. Tankage consists of 2 equally sized vacuum tanks plumbed in series.

3. Side fairings extended onto tail cone approximately 15 inches to accommodate 2 of 4 auxiliary H2O2 tanks.

4. Tankage & pressurization system for 40 gallons auxiliary H202 added in aft side fairing area. Tankage consists of 4 equal spheres plumbed in series with main (existing) engine H202 tank.

5. Provisions added to accommodate Lox & NH3 drop tanks, slung directly under wing root, Lox tank on LH side and NH3 tank on RH side. Tank ejection system features redundant pyrotechnics to unlatch hooks, and to provide gas pressure for ejector pistons to accelerate tank downward, with negative pitch angle. Ejection system may be operated automatically (by a timer, sensing main chamber pressure) or manually by the pilot. The automatic system may be disarmed by the pilot. The manual system has positive override of the automatic system at any time.

Lox drop tank capacity is 767 gallons (7494 lbs).

NH3 drop tank capacity is 1053 gallons (6006 lbs).

Drop tank propellants feed directly to their respective main propellant tanks and not into the engine feed lines.

6. Lower fixed ventral stub made removable to provide for future installation of pylon for mounting ramjet prototype engines for flight test. (Actual installation of candidate ramjets has not been designed as yet).

7. Main landing gear redesigned and lengthened to provide ground clearance for landing with 30" dia. ramjet in place of lower ventral, and also to increase strength of gear for heavier landing weight.

8. Stroke of nose gear increased 4.0 inches to accommodate greater landing weight.

9. Windshield redesigned to incorporate a third (outer): layer of fused silica glass to provide protection against aerodynamic heating at Mach numbers above 6. Elliptical shape used to decrease stress concentrations.

10. Provisions for Startracker experiment installed. This item consists of equipment installations in the elevator area, pilot controls added to the panel on the LH canopy longeron, and the "flip-top" door system in the elevator bay hatch.

11. RH wing outer panel made removable to provide for special test panel installations. Removable wing skin sections provided in outer panel to permit installation of instruments within wing, for structural research data.

12. Shackles increased in strength to accommodate greater gross weight while hanging on B-52 pylon. B-52 pylon and wing structure was also beefed-up and new heavier hooks incorporated to take the increased weight.

13. Ground servicing provisions for propellant systems relocated to clear drop tank installation hardware and improve crew access.

14. Miscellaneous "updating" items were incorporated. A list of these items follows:
 

3. Engine auxiliary purge system added to permit "Lox Burnout" engine operation.

4. Provisions for two 12 cell manometers installed in place of LH2 tanks, in fuselage mid section.

5. Hycon installation removed from fuselage mid section (reactivation of the Hycon program is expected later this year, at which time that equipment will be reinstalled).

6. SAS emergency pump has been modified to permit greater overspeed tolerance without shutdown, insuring improved reliability at high input pressures.

7. Escape system pip circuit added for T/M recording.

8. Nose and main gear CPT instrumentation added.