On this day in 1947, U.S. Air Force veteran Chuck Yeager made history by becoming the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound.

To break the sound barrier, Yeager flew the rocket-powered Bell XS-1 at Mach 1.07 at an altitude of 45,000 ft over the Mojave Desert. A couple days before the flight, Yeager broke two of his ribs riding a horse. His pain was so great on the day of the flight that he could not close the X-1 hatch on his own, yet Yeager pulled through and piloted the aircraft as scheduled. 

Yeager won a multitude of awards for breaking the sound barrier and continued to break more speed and altitude records in his career. The Bell XS-1 he flew in that historic flight is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum.

Check out footage of Yeager’s flight below.