 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Joe H. Engle, US Air Force. X-15 Pilot no. 8. North American Aviation |
Vice President Hubert Humphrey (left photo) visited Edwards, and Joe Engle served as a docent (right photo). Armstrong Flight Research Center and National Museum of the US Air Force |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
Joe in front of a North American F-100 Super Sabre. author's collection |
||||
Engle leaves suiting van at the beginning of his first X-15 flight on 7 Oct. 1963. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Images of Engle rolling X-15 no. 1 during his first flight on 7 Oct. 1963. Note the Earth is on top of the X-15 in the middle photo. This film, when seen by Paul Bikle, got Engle a dressing down for doing something you were not supposed to do on the X-15, even though Crossfield had done it previously. NASA Headquarters |
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
Engle in X-15 no. 3, but would not launch this day. Flight 3-A-56 on 23 Sep. 1964. North American Aviation |
Engle lands X-15 no. 1 after a run to Mach 4.75 with mission 1-41-65 on 14 Nov. 1963. NASA Headquarters |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
Engle being greeted on the lakebed after a successful X-15 flight. NASA Headquarters |
Preparing for launch on Engle's final X-15 flight with mission 1-61-101 on 14 Oct. 1965. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
Bob Rushworth with Engle in August 1965. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
Engle, Rushwortth, McKay, Knight, Thompson, and Dana on 2 Dec. 1965. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
YouTube documentary about Exercise Desert Strike, a "war" between the "nations" of Calonia and Nezona in May 1964, which affected X-15 operations, as described in chapter 8 of "The X-15 Rocket Plane." |
||||
 |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
Video images of Engle practicing for an upcoming flight in the X-15 "Iron Bird" simulator inside the hangar at Edwards. NASA Headquarters |
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
Video images of Engle suiting up in the A/P 22S pressure suit prior to an X-15 flight. NASA Headquarters |
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
B-52 no. 008, mothership to the X-15, taxies to the runway for take-off. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
X-15 no. 3 ignites its LR-99 rocket engine moments after launch from the B-52. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
The X-15 soars toward space in the skies of the southwest United States. author's collection |
||
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
Ballistic Control System rockets fire in the nose and wing to stabilize the X-15's attitude in space, providing a stable platform for experiments, as well as safe control for reentry. computer art Thommy Eriksson |
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
High altitude view of Earth from the X-15. The thin line of Earth's atmosphere is visible. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
Las Vegas area with the Colorado River winding toward the right from 155,000 feet. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
(above and below) Engle is greeted on the lakebed by his wife Mary, and two children, daughter Laurie and son Joe, after Joe's first astronaut flight on 29 Jun. 1965. Mission 3-44-67 was the highest altitude reached by Engle on the X-15 program (280,600 feet), but was only the first of 3 astronaut qualification flights on the X-15. author's collection |
||
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
Joe Engle poses in front of the X-15A-2 on 2 Dec. 1965. He was supposed to inherit this program from Bob Rushworth, but instead went to the NASA Astronaut Office. Pete Knight eventually took over the A-2, flying Mach 6.7 on 3 October 1967. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
||||
Engle sporting a flight jacket with an early X-15 patch. Only the second known photo of this patch at the time of the X-15 program. author's collection |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
— Spaceflight after the X-15 — |
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
The patch created by the Apollo 14 backup crew of Engle, Cernan, and Evans. author's collection |
Original Apollo 17 crew of Joe Engle, Gene Cernan, and Ron Evans. author's collection |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
Space Shuttle Commander Joe H. Engle with Richard H. Truly on STS-2 in Nov. 1981. NASA Headquarters |
Engle and Truly took this humorous alternate crew photo for STS-2. author's collection |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
Comparing the X-15 to the Space Shuttle for the National Aviation Hall of Fame. author's collection |
Joe Engle brings home Space Shuttle Columbia at the end of STS-2 on 14 Nov. 1981. photo by Michelle Evans |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
Joe Engle lands Space Shuttle Discovery at Edwards AFB at the end of mission STS-51I at 06:15 PDT on 3 Sep. 1985. This was Engle's 5th and final spaceflight. photo by Michelle Evans |
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
Joe Engle and Aviation Week & Space Technology Senior Editor William Scott go through a simulated mission on the X-30 National Aerospaceplane (NASP) mockup. Aviation Week & Space Technology |
Joe Engle dons a pressure suit to test NASP human factors design. Unfortunately, the concept was terminated in 1993. Aviation Week & Space Technology |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
The Cosmosphere celebrates Joe with a ride in a miniature Space Shuttle. Cosmosphere International SciEd Center & Space Museum |
Domingo Gutierrez, Chuck Yeager, and Joe Engle. author's collection |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||||
Joe Engle speaking at the San Diego Air & Space Museum Legends of Flight installation on 1 Nov. 2014. Note Joe's X-15 tie-tac. San Diego Air & Space Museum |
||||||
B-52 Pilot Fitz Fulton and X-15 Pilot Joe Engle at the Legends of Flight event San Diego Air & Space Museum |
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
||||
Engle in the cockpit of the X-15A-2 on 2 Oct. 2015. The X-15 had just been moved to its new home in Hangar 4 at the National Museum of the US Air Force. National Museum of the US Air Force |
|||||
Michelle and Joe speaking together at the US Air Force Academy on 17 Jan. 2018. photo by Col. Martin France |
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
A proposed commemorative plaque created by Tim Gagnon to honor Joe Engle and the X-15, with proceeds to the National Aviation Hall of Fame. |
Honoring Joe Engle's accomplishements in spaceflight with three astronaut qualification flights on the X-15 and two orbital flights aboard the Space Shuttle. artwork by Stan Stokes |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|