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Joe Engle
Sign in to saveAlso known as Joseph Engle, Joe H. Engle, Joseph H. Engle, Joe Henry Engle, Joseph Henry Engle
American astronaut (1932-2024)
OverviewAI-generated
Joseph Henry Engle was an American astronaut, test pilot, and engineer. He served as a major general in the United States Air Force and was a member of NASA Astronaut Group 5. His career included significant events such as sub-orbital spaceflight and participation in the crews of the X-15, STS-2, and STS-51-I. He spent 13,470 units of time in space while employed by NASA.
Engle was educated at the University of Kansas and the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. He spoke English and was recognized in the Astronauts collection. His awards included the Distinguished Flying Cross, Harmon Trophy, and inductions into the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame. He was born in Chapman and died in Houston on July 10, 2024.
Synthesized by Vinony from 21 facts across 2 sources: Wikidata, Vinony collections. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Key facts
- Born
- ( 1932-08-26 ) August 26, 1932, Abilene, Kansas , U.S.
- Died
- July 10, 2024 (2024-07-10) (aged 91), Houston, Texas , U.S.
- Resting place
- Arlington National Cemetery , Arlington, Virginia , U.S.
- Education
- University of Kansas ( BS )
- Awards
- Distinguished Flying Cross , NASA Distinguished Service Medal
- Rank
- Major General , USAF / ANG
- Time in space
- 9d 8h 30m
- Selection
- NASA Group 5 (1966)
- Missions
- X-15 Flight 138 X-15 Flight 143 X-15 Flight 153 ALT, Crew 2 STS-2 STS-51-I
- Retirement
- November 28, 1986
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Part of
- NASA Astronaut Group 5
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Chapman
- Place of death
- Houston
- Occupation
- engineer
- Employer
- NASA
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Military branch
- United States Air Force
- Military rank
- major general
- Image
- Joe Engle.jpg
- Significant event
- sub-orbital spaceflight
Show 7 more facts
via Wikidata · CC0
~10 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Joseph Henry Engle (August 26, 1932 – July 10, 2024) was an American pilot, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut. He was the commander of two Space Shuttle missions including STS-2 in 1981, the program's second orbital flight. He also flew two flights in the Shuttle program's 1977 Approach and Landing Tests. Engle was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the Air Force and NASA.
As an X-15 pilot, Engle made three flights above 50 miles (80 km), thus qualifying for astronaut wings under the American convention for the boundary of space. In 1966, he was selected for NASA's 5th Astronaut Group, joining the Apollo program. He was backup Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) for Apollo 14 and was originally scheduled to walk on the Moon as LMP for Apollo 17. However, cancellation of later flights prompted NASA to select geologist-astronaut Harrison Schmitt as the Lunar Module Pilot, displacing Engle.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Joe Engle” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.