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Joe Engle with X-15A-2

In 1963 Captain Engle was assigned as one of two Air Force test pilots to fly the X-15 Research Rocket aircraft. In 1965 he flew the X-15 to an altitude of 280,600 feet, and became the youngest pilot ever to qualify as an astronaut. Three of his sixteen flights in the X-15 exceeded the 50-mile (264,000 feet) altitude required for astronaut rating.

 

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Credit: NASA

Image Number: E-14198

Date: December 2, 1965

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Uploaded on June 29, 2025
Taken on December 2, 1965