Joe Engle was a pilot and NASA astronaut who was one of just 12 pilots to fly missions on the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane.
- Died: July 10, 2024 (Who else died on July 10?)
- Details of death: Died at the age of 91.
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Joe Engle’s legacy
There was only one thing Joe Engle ever wanted to do with his life: fly. Born in Chapman, Kansas, he earned his degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Kansas and joined the U.S. Air Force. He earned his pilot wings in 1958, and by 1961 he had graduated from the USAF Test Pilot School.
Engle was assigned to the North American X-15 research program. The X-15 was an experimental spaceplane, a winged craft capable of taking off from the ground, crossing the edge of space, and returning. The X-15 could fly more than 50 miles above the surface of the Earth and holds the record for the highest speed by a manned, powered aircraft: 4,520 miles per hour.
Engle was just one of 12 pilots to fly the X-15 and was the last surviving veteran of the innovative aircraft.
He flew a second winged craft in space when he piloted the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1981, then the Discovery two years later. This made him the first ever pilot to fly two winged craft in space. Astronaut Frederick W. Sturckow is the only other person to have done it.
Engle retired from NASA and the U.S. Air Force in 1986 with numerous commendations, including a Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, USAF Outstanding Young Officer of the Year, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, and many others. He is in the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, and he was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor.
Notable quote
“My mom used to say … that she couldn’t remember me seriously wanting to do anything but fly airplanes. Of course, I went through the fireman and the cowboy games and things with other kids, but my core desires and my core toys were always airplanes and flying.”— NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project, 2004
Tributes to Joe Engle
Full obituary: Space.com
