Joe Engle, the Last Living X-15 Pilot, Passed Away July 10 At the Age of 91

clovis (Slashdot reader #4,684) writes: Joe Engle received his astronaut wings in a ceremony on July 15, 1965, for his flight in the hypersonic aircraft, reaching an altitude of 50 miles above the Earth. At 32, he was the youngest man to become an astronaut.

Later, he entered the Apollo program and eventually commanded the STS-2 flight of the Space Shuttle.

Here is an interview from 2004. I thought it was interesting that they used the F-104 as the chase plane and for training because the flight characteristics were so similar, which says a lot about the F-104.

Anyway, the X-15 project was a big deal for us science/geek types back when I was a kid. I wonder if it's something today's generation is even aware of.

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