Flight 143
X-15
United States Air Force
Crew
Joe Engle
Status: Retired
8/26/1932 -
Nationality: American
Type: Government
First Flight: 6/29/1965
Last Flight: 8/27/1985
Joe Henry Engle is an American pilot who served in the United States Air Force, test pilot for the North American X-15 program, aeronautical engineer, and a former NASA astronaut. As of 2018, he is the last living pilot of the X-15 program.
Engle test-flew the joint NASA-Air Force X-15 rocket airplane. During the course of testing, Engle earned his USAF Astronaut Wings, a Distinguished Flying Cross and other awards. Engle was selected by NASA in 1966 for the Apollo program, and was originally scheduled to land on the Moon as Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 17, but was bumped when later flights were cancelled, so that geologist-astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt could fly.
He subsequently became one of the first astronauts in the Space Shuttle program, having flight tested the Space Shuttle Enterprise in 1977. He was Commander of the second orbital test flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1981.
Mission
Flight 143
Type: Test Flight
Flight 143 of the North American X-15 was a test flight conducted by NASA and the US Air Force in 1965. Piloted by Joe H. Engle it reached an altitude of 82.6 km.
Trajectory
The trajectory is unavailable. Check back for updates.
Location
Edwards Air Force Base
Air launch to Suborbital flight
81 rockets have launched from Air launch to Suborbital flight.
Agency
United States Air Force – USAF
- Type: Government
- Abbreviation: USAF
- Administration: Commander-in-Chief: President of the US
- Founded: 1947
- Country: USA
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947.
