The San Diego Air & Space Museum remembers fondly former NASA Astronaut Joe Engle, the only person to have flown two different types of winged space vehicles. Engle, who was inducted into the prestigious International Air & Space Hall of Fame in 2014, passed away on July 10, 2024 at the age of 91.

Since 1963, the International Air & Space Hall of Fame has honored the world’s most significant pilots, crew members, visionaries, inventors, aerospace engineers, business leaders, preservationists, designers and space explorers. Engle entered the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in 2014.

“Aviation and space exploration, as embodied by the honorees in the International Air & Space Hall of Fame, directly represents the human pioneering and exploring spirit. Joe Engle was the true embodiment of that spirit, including flying over 185 different types of aircraft, logging over 14,000 hours and spending 224 hours in space,” said Jim Kidrick, President & CEO of the San Diego Air & Space Museum. “Joe was an unsung American hero, a gentleman, and a great friend of the Museum. The San Diego Air & Space Museum remembers him fondly for his incredible achievements.”

Born August 26, 1932 in Abilene, Kansas, Engle grew up in nearby Chapman. He attended the University of Kansas, a 1955 aeronautical engineering graduate. Commissioned through the AFROTC, he earned his wings in 1958.

Engle graduated from the Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School in 1961 and the Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School in 1962. In 1963, he was chosen as a test pilot for the X-15 program. In 1966, he was named an Apollo astronaut, serving on the support crew for Apollo 10, and backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 14.

The first space shuttle, Enterprise, was used to test shuttle landings. In 1977, launched from a Boeing 747, Engle flew Enterprise to two landings. In 1981 he was given command of the second shuttle flight - the only shuttle commander who had not flown an orbital space mission, launching on Columbia - the first time a previously flown manned spacecraft was re-flown. Along with his pilot, he spent two and a half days in space. At mission’s end, he flew the shuttle manually from its Mach 25 orbital speed to a successful runway landing.

In 1985, Engle commanded his second shuttle mission, flying Discovery with a five-person crew. His piloting skills were again used to perform a complex rendezvous with a malfunctioning orbital satellite, which was captured and repaired during a series of ambitious spacewalks. After seven days in space, Engle landed at Edwards. He retired in 1986. Engle was inducted into the prestigious International Air & Space Hall of Fame in 2014.

The International Air & Space Hall of Fame is the most prestigious induction of its kind in the world and is composed of hundreds of air and space pioneers, engineers, inventors and innovators, along with adventurers, scientists and industry leaders. NASA Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts and Russian cosmonauts are honored in the Hall, as well as famous legends such as the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh, Neil Armstrong and Amelia Earhart. Notable inductees also include Buzz Aldrin, Igor Sikorsky, Wernher von Braun, Jack Northrop, Jackie Cochran, William Boeing, Sr., Reuben H. Fleet, Glenn Curtiss, Walter Zable Sr., Fran Bera, Wally Schirra, Bill Anders, Jim Lovell, T. Claude Ryan, Jimmy Doolittle, Bob Hoover, Ellen Ochoa, Peggy Whitson, Linden Blue, Patty Wagstaff, and many more. See the following link: http://sandiegoairandspace.org/exhibits/online-exhibit-page/international-air-space-hall-of-fame.