Joe Henry Engle (August 26, 1932 – July 10, 2024) was an American pilot,

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

, and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

. He was the commander of two

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

missions including

STS-2 STS-2 was the second Space Shuttle mission conducted by NASA, and the second flight of the orbiter Space Shuttle Columbia, ''Columbia''. The mission, crewed by Joe Engle, Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly, launched on November 12, 1981, and lan ...

in 1981, the program's second orbital flight. He also flew two flights in the Shuttle program's 1977

Approach and Landing Tests The Approach and Landing Tests were a series of sixteen taxiing, taxi and flight trials of the prototype Space Shuttle Orbiter, Space Shuttle ''Space Shuttle Enterprise, Enterprise'' that took place between February and October 1977 to test the ...

. Engle was one of twelve pilots who flew the

North American X-15 The North American X-15 is a Hypersonic speed, hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft which was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the List of X-planes, X-plane series of ...

, an experimental

spaceplane A spaceplane is a vehicle that can flight, fly and gliding flight, glide as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere and function as a spacecraft in outer space. To do so, spaceplanes must incorporate features of both aircraft and spacecraft. Orbit ...

jointly operated by the Air Force and NASA. As an X-15 pilot, Engle made three flights above , thus qualifying for

astronaut wings United States astronaut badges are the various badges of the United States which are awarded to military and civilian personnel of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the various child departments of the Department of Defense, or ...

under the American convention for the boundary of space. In 1966, he was selected for NASA's 5th Astronaut Group, joining the

Apollo program The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which Moon landing, landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo followed Project Mercury that put the first Americans in sp ...

. He was backup

Lunar Module The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed s ...

Pilot (LMP) for

Apollo 14 Apollo 14 (January 31February 9, 1971) was the eighth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, the third to Moon landing, land on the Moon, and the first to land in the Geology of the Moon#Highlands, lunar highlands. It was the las ...

and was originally scheduled to walk on the Moon as LMP for

Apollo 17 Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the eleventh and final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the sixth and most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on the Moon, ...

. However, cancellation of later flights prompted NASA to select geologist-astronaut

Harrison Schmitt Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt (born July 3, 1935) is an American geologist, former NASA astronaut, university professor, former U.S. senator from New Mexico. He is the most recent living person—and only person without a background in military a ...

as the Lunar Module Pilot, displacing Engle.

Biography

Personal life and education

Engle was born on August 26, 1932, in

Abilene, Kansas Abilene (pronounced ) is a city in and the county seat of Dickinson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,460. It is home of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Libra ...

. He was raised in

Chapman, Kansas Chapman is a city in Dickinson County, Kansas, Dickinson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,377. History The first settlement was made at Chapman in 1868, and the ...

, where he attended primary and secondary school. Engle graduated from Dickinson County High School in 1950. He was active as a

Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

and earned the rank of First Class. Engle received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

Aerospace Engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

in 1955, where he was a member of the

Theta Tau Theta Tau () is a professional collegiate engineering fraternity. The fraternity has programs to promote the social, academic, and professional development of its members. Theta Tau is the oldest and largest professional engineering fraternity ...

Professional Engineering Fraternity. Engle was married to the former Mary Catherine Lawrence (1934–2004) of Mission Hills, Kansas, and had two children and one stepchild. After her death, he married Jeanie Carter of

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. Engle's recreational interests included flying (including

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

fighter aircraft),

big game hunting Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for Trophy hunting, trophies, taxidermy, meat, and commercially valuable animal product, animal by-products (such as horn (anatomy), horns, antlers, tusks, bones, fur, body fat, or special o ...

backpacking Backpacking may refer to: * Backpacking (travel), low-cost, independent, international travel * Backpacking (hiking), trekking and camping overnight in the wilderness * Ultralight backpacking, a style of wilderness backpacking with an emphasis on ...

, and athletics. He was a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and became a Fellow in 2009. Engle died at his home in Houston, Texas on July 10, 2024, at the age of 91. With Engle's death, all 12 pilots to fly the X-15 are now deceased.

Flight experience

Engle received his commission in the U.S. Air Force through the

Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps The Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AFROTC) is one of the three primary commissioning sources for officers in the United States Air Force and United States Space Force, the other two being the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA ...

at the

. While in school he was a member of the Professional Engineering Fraternity

, and decided to become a

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

. While working at

Cessna Aircraft Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturin ...

during the summer, he learned how to fly from a fellow draftsman, Henry Dittmer. Engle entered flying school in 1957, and received his pilot wings in 1958. He flew the F-100 Super Sabre with the 474th Fighter Day Squadron and the 309th Tactical Fighter Squadron at

George Air Force Base George Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located within the city limits, 8 miles northwest, of central Victorville, California, about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. Established by the United States Army Air C ...

, California.

Chuck Yeager Brigadier general (United States), Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager ( , February 13, 1923December 7, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot who in October 1947 became the first pilot in his ...

recommended Engle for Air Force Experimental Flight Test Pilot School, from which he graduated in 1961, and he was later assigned to the third class of the Aerospace Research Pilot School, despite his reluctance to leave "stick and rudder" flying for a

space capsule A space capsule is a spacecraft designed to transport cargo, scientific experiments, and/or astronauts to and from space. Capsules are distinguished from other spacecraft by the ability to survive reentry and return a payload to the Earth's surfa ...

. After serving as a test pilot in the Fighter Test Group at

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...

, California, Engle was a test pilot in the X-15 research program at Edwards from June 1963 until his assignment to the Manned Spacecraft Center (now the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center). Engle had applied with fellow ARPS student Charles Bassett and Michael Collins to the third NASA astronaut group, but the Air Force withdrew Engle's NASA application and instead chose him to replace Robert M. White in the X-15 program, which pleased Engle. Engle's parents witnessed his X-15 flight of June 29, 1965, which exceeded an altitude of 50 miles (80 km) and qualified him for

; he again exceeded 50 miles twice during his career of 16 flights. On his final X-15 mission, free flight 153 (1-61-101), which took place on October 14, 1965, he became the first of only two pilots to accomplish a sub-orbital space flight in an X-15 without the benefit of the assistance provided by the MH-96 adaptive flight control system. Despite what he later called "the best flying job in the world", Engle decided to apply again to NASA as he expected to be rotated to another Air Force assignment within a year and hoped to go to the Moon. Engle flew over 185 different types of aircraft (25 different fighters) during his career, logging more than 15,400 hours flight time of which 9,000 were in

jet aircraft A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by one or more jet engines. Whereas the engines in Propeller (aircraft), propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much ...

NASA career

Engle was one of 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served on the support crew for

Apollo 10 Apollo 10 (May 18–26, 1969) was the fourth human spaceflight in the United States' Apollo program and the second to orbit the Moon. NASA, the mission's operator, described it as a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing (Apollo 11, two ...

. He then served as backup

Pilot for the

mission. He was due to land on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

as Lunar Module Pilot for

, but was replaced by geologist

. This was a result of pressure from the scientific community to have a professional geologist explore the Moon, and not just test pilot engineers who had been given rudimentary geology training. In response to getting bumped from the mission, he said "When you think about it, the lunar missions were geology-oriented." According to Engle,

Deke Slayton Donald Kent "Deke" Slayton (March 1, 1924 – June 13, 1993) was an American Air Force pilot, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts. He went on to become NASA's first Chief of the Astronaut O ...

asked him whether he would prefer to fly on

Skylab Skylab was the United States' first space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three trios of astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Skylab was constructe ...

Apollo–Soyuz Apollo–Soyuz was the first crewed international Space exploration, space mission, carried out jointly by the United States and the Soviet Union in July 1975. Millions of people around the world watched on television as an American Apollo comm ...

, or the Space Shuttle; Engle responded that he would prefer the Shuttle as it was an airplane. Engle was commander of one of the two crews that flew the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Test Flights from June through October 1977. The Space Shuttle ''Enterprise'' was carried to 25,000 feet on top of the

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...

carrier aircraft, and then released for its two-minute glide flight to landing. In this series of flight tests, Engle evaluated the Orbiter handling qualities and landing characteristics, and obtained the stability and control, and performance data in the subsonic flight envelope for the Space Shuttle. He was the backup commander for STS-1, the first orbital test flight of Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. Together with pilot Richard Truly he flew as commander on the second flight of the Space Shuttle,

, becoming the last NASA rookie to command a spaceflight until Raja Chari in 2021 on SpaceX Crew-3. He was also mission commander on STS-51-I and logged over 225 hours in space. Engle was one of two people to have flown into space on two different types of winged vehicles: the

X-15 The North American X-15 is a Hypersonic speed, hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft which was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the List of X-planes, X-plane series of ...

and the Space Shuttle, on STS-2 (the other person being Frederick W. Sturckow). Engle manually flew large numbers of flight-test maneuvers on the Shuttle during reentry and landing; periods of manually flown test maneuvers were interspersed with periods of computer control. He served as deputy associate administrator for manned space flight at NASA Headquarters from March to December 1982. He retained his astronaut flight status and returned to

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight in Houston, Texas (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight controller, flight control are conducted. ...

in January 1983. He also participated in the ''Challenger'' disaster investigation in 1986, and did other consulting work on the Shuttle well into the 1990s.

Post-NASA career

Engle retired from the USAF with the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

on November 14, 1986, and from NASA on November 28, 1986. On December 1, 1986, he was appointed by the Governor of Kansas and the

United States Secretary of the Air Force The secretary of the Air Force, sometimes referred to as the secretary of the Department of the Air Force, (SecAF, or SAF/OS) is the head of the United States Department of the Air Force, Department of the Air Force and the service secretary for ...

to a billet in the Kansas Air National Guard at the rank of brigadier general, initially serving as a special assistant to the adjutant general. Under this arrangement, Engle was permitted to retain Houston residency. The discrepancy between his Air Force and Air National Guard ranks was rectified by Senate confirmation of his promotion on February 2, 1988. He subsequently served as

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...

assistant to the commander in chief,

United States Space Command United States Space Command (USSPACECOM or SPACECOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations 100 kilometers (62 miles) and greater ...

and

North American Air Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and pr ...

(NORAD), with headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base,

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. Engle ultimately retired from the Air National Guard around 1991 at the rank of major general, a promotion previously confirmed by the Senate on June 22, 1989. In 1992, he was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor. In 2001, Engle was inducted into the

National Aviation Hall of Fame The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with ...

and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.

Awards and honors

Apollo 14 Backup Lunar Module Pilot Joe Engle

* USAF Astronaut Badge (1964) *

Defense Distinguished Service Medal The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to the ...

– "for outstanding achievements" *

Air Force Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force and is presented to airmen and guardians to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritorious service to the United S ...

(1985) * Distinguished Flying Cross, twice (1964 and 1978) – "for outstanding achievements" *

NASA Distinguished Service Medal The NASA Distinguished Service Medal is the highest award that can be bestowed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States. The medal may be presented to any member of the federal government, including both milita ...

* Two

NASA Space Flight Medal The NASA Space Flight Medal is a decoration of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. According to its statutes, it is awarded "for significant achievement or service during individual participation as a civilian or military astronau ...

s *

NASA Exceptional Service Medal The NASA Exceptional Service Medal is an award granted to U.S. government employees for significant sustained performance characterized by unusual initiative or creative ability that clearly demonstrates substantial improvement in engineering, a ...

* NASA Special Achievement Award * USAF Outstanding Young Officer of the Year (1964) * Kansan of the Year (1964) * U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce's one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of America (1964) *

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecra ...

(AIAA) Pioneer of Flight Award (1965) * AIAA Lawrence Sperry Award for Flight Research (1966) * Iven C. Kincheloe Prize awarded by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (1977) – for taking part in testing the Space Shuttle ''Enterprise'' * AIAA Haley Space Flight Award (1980) * Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy * Robert J. Collier Trophy * Harmon International Trophy (1981) *

Distinguished Service Citation (1982) * University of Kansas School of Engineering Distinguished Engineering Service Award (1982) * General Thomas D. White USAF Space Trophy, 1981 * Aerospace Walk of Honor,

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the popul ...

(1992) *

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

(2001) * U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, Florida (2001) * Award of Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers (2007) * International Air & Space Hall of Fame (2014)Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor (2006). ''These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame''. Donning Co. Publishers. .

References

Bibliography

External links

Iven C. Kincheloe Awards

Joe Engle
() at the

Joe Engle
at the

Kansas Historical Society The Kansas Historical Society is the official state historical society of Kansas. Headquartered in Topeka, it operates as "the trustee of the state" for the purpose of maintaining the state's history and operates the Kansas Museum of Histor ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Engle, Joe 1932 births 1981 in spaceflight 1985 in spaceflight 2024 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American aerospace engineers American test pilots Aviators from Kansas Canceled Apollo missions Collier Trophy recipients Harmon Trophy winners Military personnel from Kansas NASA people National Aviation Hall of Fame inductees People from Chapman, Kansas People who have flown in suborbital spaceflight Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal Space Shuttle program astronauts U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni United States Air Force astronauts United States Air Force generals United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees University of Kansas alumni X-15 program