Bio

Major General Joe H. Engle is retired from the Air National Guard, the United States Air Force, and the NASA Astronaut program. Born in Abilene, Kansas he attended the University of Kansas and graduated in 1955 with a BS degree in Aeronautical Engineering and an Air Force ROTC commission.

General Engle served with the 474th Fighter Day Squadron and the 309th Tactical Fighter Squadron flying F-100's at George AFB, CA. In 1960 he attended the USAF Test Pilot School and the Aerospace Research Pilot School (then commanded by Gen. Chuck Yeager) at Edwards AFB, CA. Upon graduation he was assigned to the Fighter Test Branch at Edwards AFB where he flew numerous fighter test projects as well as the X-15 rocket research airplane. Three of his 16 flights in the X-15 exceeded an altitude of 50 miles (the altitude which qualifies a pilot for astronaut rating).

In March 1966, General Engle was one of 19 astronauts selected for NASA space missions. He was the back-up Lunar Module Pilot for the Apollo 14 mission. From June through October 1977, he was commander of one of two crews that flew the Space Shuttle "Enterprise" Approach and Landing Test glide flights which launched from the top of a modified Boeing 747.

On 12 Nov 1981, General Engle commanded the second orbital test flight of the Space Shuttle "Columbia" launched from Kennedy Space Center, FL. On this flight he became the first pilot to manually fly an aerospace vehicle during entry from Mach 25 to landing.

From March to December 1982, General Engle served as Deputy Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight at NASA Headquarters. He retained his flight astronaut status and returned to Johnson Space Center in January 1983.

On 27 Aug 1985, General Engle served as Commander on Space Shuttle "Discovery" (Flight 51-I), which launched from Kennedy Space Center. This mission was acknowledged as the most successful Space Shuttle mission yet flown. The crew deployed three communications satellites, and performed a successful on-orbit rendezvous and manual repair of the ailing SYNCOM IV-3 satellite. He has logged over 224 hours in space.

He has flown over 175 different types of aircraft including 36 different fighter and attack aircraft. He has logged more than 13,500 flight hours--9,500 in jets. His military decorations include the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, and the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster. He has been awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, NASA Exceptional Service Medal, and NASA Space Flight Medal with device.

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