Astronaut Joe Engle Has Died at 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. 

Engle’s entry into the world of aerospace began when he earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Kansas in 1955. He then entered the Air Force through the Reserve Officers Training Corps, earning a commission as pilot in 1958. His first assignment was flying F-100s with the 474th Fighter Day Squadron. He was later assigned to the 309th Tactical Fighter Squadron at George Air Force Base, California.

In the early 1960s as the Space Race was ramping up, Engle applied for and was accepted to Aerospace Research Pilot School (ARPS), which was established at Edwards AFB, California, to train military astronauts. While there, he was selected to fly the X-15 in a joint test program between the U.S. Air Force and NASA, according to Space.com. On June 29, 1965, during a flight of the X-15 rocket plane he flew 50 miles above the earth which qualified him for his astronaut wings.

He would repeat the flight twice more before being selected for astronaut training in 1966.

At the age of 32, he was the youngest of the astronaut candidates and the only one who already qualified for astronaut wings because of his experience in the X-15, according to NASA. Engle served as a support crew member for Apollo 10 and later was named as the backup lunar module pilot for the 1971 Apollo 14 mission.

Engle remained at NASA and in 1977 became the commander of one of the two crews assigned to space shuttle Enterprise. The Enterprise was designed as a proof-of-concept vehicle and was used for atmospheric testing. The orbiter was launched from the top of a specially modified 747, and Engle’s job was to fly it to the ground.

In 1981 Engle was piloting space shuttle Columbia on the second mission of America’s reusable spacecraft. The technology still had a few bugs in it, and what was supposed to have been a five-day mission was cut short to two days because of a fuel cell malfunction. 

Engle later told the press that the vibrations experienced during the launch were "very impressive" and very loud. He compared it to "an old pickup truck with a lot of loose tools in the back."

Engles final flight into space was in August 1985 aboard space shuttle Discovery.

NASA’s official biography of Engle noted that during his career he flew more than 180 different types of aircraft, logging more than 14,000 hours. His military decorations included the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal, USAF Distinguished Service Medal, and the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster.

He was also the recipient of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and Space Flight Medal, the Harmon International, Collier, Lawrence Sperry, Iven C. Kinchloe, Robert H. Goddard and Thomas D. White aviation and space trophies.

In 1992, he was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor.

Engle was married twice, first to Mary Catherine Lawrence, with whom he had two children and one stepchild. He is survived by his second wife, Jeanie Carter Engle.