Adaptive Control (Part I-Full) — Hypersonics and the MIT Rule

An introduction to the “MIT rule”, the adaptation algorithm that ruled the adaptive flight control system of the first manned hypersonic aircraft, the North American X-15.

Rodney Rodríguez

14 min readMar 26, 2022

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NASA pilot Neil Armstrong is seen here in the cockpit of the X-15-1 (56–6670) after a research flight. Neil Amstrong was the first test pilot to fly in the North American X-15–3, the first-ever manned hypersonic vehicle that featured an adaptive flight control system, the MH-96. Image source: NASA Collection.

Rodney Rodríguez

Written by Rodney Rodríguez

Aerospace engineer, flight dynamics and control expert, amateur writer, and cutting-edge technology advocate.

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