The X-24B, 13551, slung beneath the wing of the B-52 mother aircraft.

Study of the X-24A at the Dryden Flight Research Center. Although its first manned captive flight occurred on April 4, 1969, the first flight under rocket power was not made until March 19, 1970.

Three manned lifting bodies were tested at Edwards AFB. Seen here, they were (left to right) the X-24, M-2 and HL-10, the last two being designed by Nasa and built by Northrop.

The USAF serial 13551 on the X-24B betrays the fact that it is simply the X-24A within a new outer shell.

View of the X-24B during the approach and landing phase. Touchdown was made at about 180kt, and 64 trouble-free landings were completed by the X-24A/B from April 1969 to November 1975.

The X-24B gliding into touchdown at Nasa’s Dryden Flight Research Center, California, piloted by John A. Manke.

The "business end" of the X-24B, showing the orifice of the 8,800lb thrust Thiokol rocket motor nestling between the large control surfaces.