Former astronaut to share experiences

Former astronaut to share experiences

Rice News staff

Former NASA astronaut Major General Joe Engle will lecture on “The Journey Beyond the Sound Barrier” at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy Nov. 10.

Joe Engle

Engle has flown more than 185 different types of aircraft, including 38 different fighter and attack aircraft. The more than 14,700 hours of flight time he has logged includes 9,900 in jets and more than 224 hours in space.

He helped flight test the joint NASA-Air Force X-15 rocket airplane at Edwards Air Force Base in California back in the 1960s. Three of his 16 flights in the X-15 exceeded an altitude of 50 miles — the height that qualifies a pilot for astronaut rating.

“Joe Engle made significant contributions to the initial aerodynamic flight testing of the space shuttle, pioneering the exploration of a new and challenging flight regime and leading the way for the many successful flights that have followed,” said George Abbey, the Baker Botts Senior Fellow in Space Policy at the Baker Institute. “His experiences in having flown the X-15 uniquely qualified Joe to accomplish this essential flight testing.”

A graduate of the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering, Engle was one of the first astronauts in the space shuttle program. He was the commander of one of two crews that flew the initial Space Shuttle Enterprise approach and landing test flights, during which the space shuttle was flown off the top of a modified Boeing 747 for a two-and-a-half-minute glide test flight from 20,000 feet to verify its systems operation and landing capability.

He served on the support crew for Apollo 10 and as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 14. He was commander of Space Shuttle Discovery on 1985’s flight 51-I, acknowledged as the most successful space shuttle mission yet flown. He also was commander of Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-2 in 1981 and served as deputy associate administrator for manned space flight at NASA headquarters in 1982.

Engle retired from NASA, the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Air National Guard as a major general in 1991. He continues to serve as a USAF consultant at Edwards Air Force Base.

Hosted by the Baker Institute’s Space Policy Program, Engle’s lecture will begin at 6 p.m. in the Kelly International Conference Facility at James A. Baker III Hall. Attendees will get a chance to meet Engle during a reception after his lecture.

Rice students, faculty and staff who want to attend should R.S.V.P. by fax (713-348-5993) or e-mail (bipprsvp@rice.edu) by Nov. 8.