1972 Brooke Bond Picture Cards : History of Aviation

Brooke Bond Picture Cards History of Aviation was released in 1972 by Brooke Bond Oxo Ltd. of Surrey. The 50-card series showcases the history of aviation from the Montgolfier hot air balloon flight of 1784. The picture cards were illustrated by Roy Cross. The card text and album was authored by Michael Wilson.

Each card measures approximately 1.46 x 2.72 inches (37 x 69 mm). The series was distributed in the United Kingdom with purchases of Brooke Bond Tea. The Brooke Bond collector album was available from participating grocers and mail order for five pence.

The collection includes an illustration of the North American X-15-1 experimental aircraft (56-6670). NASA developed three of the aircraft to investigate problems that pilots would encounter near the edge of space.The X-15-1 was first piloted in an unpowered glide by Scott Crossfield on June 8, 1959. The X-15-1 is currently held by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The aircraft in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport in Virginia.

The X-15 program completed 199 free flights from 1959–1968. Eight astronauts have flown the X-15 above 50 miles, the United States definition of space. On July 17, 1962, Robert Michael White reached an altitude of 59.6 miles (95.9 km) aboard the X-15-3 (56-6672). White was awarded the United States Astronaut Badge on August 23, 2005.

On July 19, 1963, Joseph A. Walker piloted the X-15-3 to an altitude of 65.87 miles (106 km). Walker was the first human to enter the mesosphere and the only pilot that flew the X-15 over the Kármán line. Walker was posthumously awarded the United States Astronaut Badge on August 23, 2005.