Retired Air National Guard Major General Joe Engle, a pioneering NASA astronaut, passed away at 91.
He was the first NASA astronaut to fly both the X-15 hypersonic rocket plane, earning his astronaut wings, and later the space shuttle.
Engle commanded atmospheric test flights for the space shuttle Enterprise and piloted the second mission of Space Shuttle Columbia, in addition to a final flight on Discovery.
Throughout his distinguished career, Engle flew over 180 different aircraft types, 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.
