Joe Henry Engle
Astronaut

Date of Birth: August 26, 1932
Place of Birth: Dickinson County, Kansas
Joined NASA: April 4, 1966
Left NASA: November 30, 1986
Space Flights: 2
Time in Space: 9 days, 8 hours, 30 minutes




MISSION ASSIGNMENTS
Apollo 14
Assignment: Back-up Lunar Module Pilot

STS Approach & Landing Tests
Assignment: Commander, Crew 2

STS 1
Assignment: Back-up Commander

STS 2
November 12-14, 1981
Assignment: Commander
Flight Duration: 2 days, 6 hours, 13 minutes

STS 51I
August 27 - September 3, 1985
Assignment: Commander
Flight Duration: 7 days, 2 hours, 17 minutes

HIGHLIGHTS

  • B.Sc., Aeronautical Engineering, University of Kansas, 1955

  • Served as a USAF fighter pilot at George AFB, California.

  • Graduate, USAF Experimental Test Pilot School and the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School.

  • From 1963 until selection by NASA, Test Pilot in the X-15 rocket-plane research project at Edwards AFB, California where he earned his USAF Astronaut Wings by exceeding an altitude of 80,000 meters in 1964. Completed 16 missions, 3 of which exceeded 80,000 meters.

  • 1971, replaced as Lunar Module Pilot for the final Apollo mission by Geologist Jack Schmitt who was the back-up LMP for Apollo 15.

  • 1977, From June to October, CDR of one of two crews to fly the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing tests aboard the Space Shuttle Enterprise.

  • STS 2, November 12-14, 1981, CDR of the second orbital test flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia, the first vehicle to enter space a second time. Joe Engle became the only CDR of a Space Shuttle mission without having flown in space with NASA.

  • From March to December 1982 served as Deputy Associate Administrator for Manned Spaceflight at NASA HQ while maintaining his flight status. Returned to JSC in January 1983.

  • STS 51I, Aug 27-Sep 3, 1985, CDR of Discovery during the deployment of 3 communications satellites and the retrieval, repair and re-release of another.

  • Retired from NASA and the USAF and was appointed to the Kansas Air National Guard, recieving a promotion to Brigadier General.

  • Worked as an Aerospace & Sporting Goods consultant.

  • Returned to NASA as part of the Stafford-Utkin Task Force, responsible for resolving Shuttle-Mir hardware and operations issues in 1994.