On Oct. 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier for the first time! [‘On This Day in Space’ Video Series on Space.com](https://www.space.com/39251-on-this-day-in-space.html)

Yeager was a test pilot for the U.S. Air Force who made history by flying an aircraft faster than the speed of sound. He made his historic flight in a Bell X-1 rocket plane that he named "Glamorous Glennis" after his wife. Yeager had broken two ribs the night before when he fell off a horse, but that didn't stop him! His aircraft was dropped from a Boeing B-29 bomber before accelerating to a speed of Mach 1.07, which is about 821 miles per hour. The speed of sound, Mach 1, is about 760 miles per hour.