Presenter: Major Gen. Joe Engle
Maj. Gen. Joe Engle is an exciting speaker with a multitude of experiences in air and space. He has logged more than 14,700 hours in the air piloting more than 185 different types of aircraft, and has logged over 225 hours in space.
Engle graduated from the Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School, and one of his 1964 test flights in the X-15 to a height of more than 50 miles earned him the distinction of being the youngest astronaut, and the youngest Air Force officer ever to wear astronaut's wings.
Engle was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966 and served as support crew and backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 10 and 14, respectively.
In the space shuttle era, he became one of only four astronauts to pilot the first shuttle, Enterprise, on free flight landings. He was the back-up commander for STS-1, the first orbital test flight of Space Shuttle Columbia. He was commander on Columbia's second flight, and later on a mission in Space Shuttle Discovery.
Upon retirement from the Air Force in 1985, Engle joined the Kansas Air National Guard, becoming a major general. Engle now serves on NASA’s ISS Advisory Committee, and enjoys flying vintage WW II airplanes.
Various slides:
Agenda:
- Early X-Series Rocket Aircraft
- Historical Perspective
- X-15
-- Description
-- Re-entry lessons
-- Heating lessons
-- Lessons applied to Space Shuttle development
- X-15 film
- Q&A
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