Former NASA astronaut Joe Engle has passed away in the United States at the age of 92. He flew twice into space on the shuttle and made three suborbital flights on the famous X-15 rocket plane.
Joe Engle was born on 26 August 1932 in Abilene, Kansas. While studying at university, he was trained as a US Air Force Reserve Officer. After graduation, Engle was called to active duty, where he decided to become a test pilot. During his flying career, he flew 185 different types of aircraft, including 25 fighter jets. His total flight time was more than 15,400 hours — 9,000 of which were in jets.
Between 1963 and 1969, Joe Engle was one of 12 pilots involved in testing the X-15 experimental rocket plane. During this time, he completed 16 flights. During three of them, Engle climbed to an altitude of more than 80 kilometers, which was enough for the US Air Force to grant him astronaut status.
In 1966, Engle was selected as part of the fifth group of NASA astronauts. He was the reserve pilot of the lunar module of the Apollo 14 expedition. According to the crew rotation rules established by NASA, Engle was to be appointed as the lunar module pilot on the last lunar expedition, Apollo 17. However, under pressure from the scientific community to send a scientist to the Moon, Engle was replaced by geologist Harrison Schmitt.
Joe Engle Source: NASA
Despite this setback, Engle did not leave NASA. He took an active part in testing the new reusable spacecraft, making several test flights in the atmosphere. In 1981, he was appointed commander of the second test flight of the Columbia STS-2 shuttle. Engle next flew into space in 1985. He commanded the STS-51 mission, during which the Discovery shuttle crew launched three telecommunications satellites into orbit and repaired the Syncom IV-3 spacecraft.
After leaving NASA, Joe Engle enlisted in the Kansas Air National Guard and was promoted to brigadier general. He also worked as a consultant and continued to fly.
Joe Engle was the last surviving pilot to fly the X-15. With his death, there is no one left to fly this unique aircraft.
We would like to remind you that William Anders, the author of the most famous space image in history, recently died in a plane crash.
