Joe Engle
| Joe H. Engle | |
|---|---|
 |
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| USAF / NASA Astronaut | |
| Nationality | American |
| Status | Retired |
| Born |
August 26, 1932 Chapman, Kansas, U.S. |
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Other names
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Joe Henry Engle |
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Other occupation
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Test pilot |
| University of Kansas, B.S. 1955 | |
| Rank | Major General, USAF |
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Time in space
|
9d 08h 30m |
| Selection | 1966 NASA Group 5 |
| Missions | X-15 Flight 138, X-15 Flight 143, X-15 Flight 153, ALT, STS-2, STS-51-I |
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Mission insignia
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| Retirement | November 28, 1986 |
| Awards |
 
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Joe Henry Engle (born August 26, 1932), (Maj Gen, USAF, Ret.), is an American pilot who served in the United States Air Force, test pilot for the North American X-15 program, aeronautical engineer, and a former NASA astronaut. As of 2016, he is the only surviving X-15 pilot.
Engle test-flew the joint NASA-Air Force X-15 rocket airplane. During the course of testing, Engle earned his USAF Astronaut Wings, a Distinguished Flying Cross and other awards. Engle was selected by NASA in 1966 for the Apollo program, and was originally scheduled to land on the Moon as Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 17, but was bumped when later flights were cancelled, so that geologist-astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt could fly.
He subsequently became one of the first astronauts in the Space Shuttle program, having flight tested the Space Shuttle Enterprise in 1977. He was Commander of the second orbital test flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1981.
Engle was born on August 26, 1932, in Chapman, Kansas. He attended primary and secondary schools in Chapman, Kansas, and he graduated from Dickinson County High School in 1950. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Kansas in 1955.
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Wikipedia