Retired Air National Guard Major General Joe Engle, a distinguished NASA astronaut, died at 91.
He was the first NASA astronaut to pilot both the X-15 hypersonic rocket plane, which earned him his astronaut wings, and the space shuttle.
Engle commanded the space shuttle Enterprise's atmospheric test flights and piloted Space Shuttle Columbia on its second mission, among other spaceflights.
Throughout his career, he flew over 180 different types of aircraft, logged more than 14,000 hours, and received numerous prestigious military and space awards.
Retired Air National Guard Major General Joe Engle, the first NASA astronaut to fly the North American X-15 hypersonic rocket plane and the space shuttle, died Wednesday. He was 91.
According to the space agency, Engle was born in Abilene, Kansas, in 1932. His family said he was enamored with flight since childhood and always had his eyes on the sky.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
