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X-15 Pilots Finally Get Astronaut Wings
Ginnungagap42 writes "NASA has a story about pilots Bill Dana, John McKay and Joe Walker finally receiving their astronauts wings for their work in the X-15 program back in the 1960's. Astronauts wings were awarded to the USAF personnel in the 1960's, but not to the civilian NASA pilots until now. The X-15 program was an important testbed for hypersonic flight. It's nice that all the pilots who flew high and fast are finally being recognized."
I read this story this morning on SpaceRef, and I was struck with the absurdity of the concept of "astronaut wings", since wings are less than useful in a vacuum. Still, I suppose that there's a great deal of precedent for the "wings" decoration...it's interesting to speculate on whether or not the nomenclature will eventually be shifted to more accurately reflect the current level of technological development (the 'order of the silver booster', or some such). It's equally possible that the nomenclature will never be altered, out of a respect for tradition and a nostalgia for the good old days...it's conceiveable that in the future, an astronaut living on a space station could be award "wings" for some accomplishment of other, having never travelled in an atmosphere himself.
Good to see these pilots get their props for their contributions, though, even if it is posthumously in the cases of John McKay and Joseph Walker, and even if surviving pilot Bill Dana seems unimpressed by the whole affair.
____
~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
In "The Right Stuff," Wolfe mentioned that the NASA X-15 pilots didn't qualify for astronaut wings. Supposedly, a party was held for one of them after his qualifying flight. He was a pair of cardboard wings labelled "Asstronaut."
The clearance system sounds logical. It is not. It is completely arbitrary. -- John Bolton
Space Ship One's private citizen pilot(s?) got his wings, or at least that's what CNN reported.p one.attempt.cnn/
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/10/04/spaceshi
"Binnie, now only the second person in history to earn his commercial astronaut wings, reported a shaky flight with "a little roll" but did not experience the 29 rolls Mike Melvill experienced last week."
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
Those guys risk their lives more than any current astronauts. I recall putting together a plastic model of the X-15 in 1958. I was in second grade and very, very keen on the space program. I still am, but think that robots should be used much more now.
Help end the use of Sigs. Tomorrow
I guess this had to happen since the civilian pilot who went up into space to claim the X-Prize was awarded his astronaut wings.
It makes sense. They were in a winged, rocket powered craft that was dropped from an airplane. If they actually got to the same height as the guys from Scaled Composites, they deserve the same astronaut wings.
"Weapons should be hardy rather than decorative" - Miyamoto Musashi
I think that goes for OS's too
I would expect that "wings" will still be wings even in the distant future of space travel. The award ceremony will just contain an explanation of the symbolic significance of "wings".
just FYI I dont know about the first two test pilots but joe walker died in a jet crash in like the late 60's or early 70's. In fact my middle schools name was joe walker in honor of his life since he died while the school was being built or just after it was built (sorry its been a long time since middle school heh). It was pretty cool because I was actually doing a research project on him for the school website and I actually remember we found an old 8mm in the school attic of 'this is your life... joe walker'
... then what about Jose Jimenez?
-- Jim Crigler In 1937, I began, like Lazarus, the impossible return. -- Whittaker Chambers
Here is the NASA page that contains background info on the X-15 for anyone interested.
Well, whaddayaknow? CNN's wording was a bit strange on that one. I checked to see if I was making an ass out of myself, and I was. The two SpaceShip One pilots *did* receive astronaut wings.
Yummy. Foot.
But think, now that these astronauts have wings, they can fly over enemy territory and drop bombs.
The X-15 pilots were moving so fast, it took the medals and awards bureau 35 years to catch up with them.
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
X-15 info
"God fights on the side with the best artillery." - Napoleon, Marshal of France - speaking truth to power
I could have sworn Bill Dana was the name of acomedian who appeared from time to time on the Ed Sullivan show in the late 1950s/early 1960s, in sketches about "the reluctant astronaut." The catchphrase was him bawling out "I want my crayons!"
Evidently my mind has turned to middle-aged mush.
What was that comedian's name?
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
Some day in the far distant future I can imagine wings being given to astronauts who have dared to take their space craft into an atmosphere, until that day this does seem to be an inappropriate thing to give a pilot for leaving the atmosphere.......
Either way its good to see NASA stepping up after awarding basically the same thing to the first 'privately funded' astronaut.
Unix, an obscure operating system developed by bored researchers in an attempt to get a better game playing experience.
I piloted my X-15 Estes Rocket Model when I was 12....Where are my wings at!?!?!?!?
Anyway, the wings in the decorations are feathered ones, not very usefull to fly with planes also, so if "wings" is just an agreed symbol about flying it doesn't matter if it makes sense for non-atmosferic fly.
In his book," Sled Driver," SR- 71/ Blackbird pilot Brian Shul writes:
I'll always remember a certain radio exchange that occurred one day as Walt (my backseater) and I were screaming across Southern California 13 miles high. We were monitoring various radio transmissions from other aircraft as we entered Los Angeles airspace. Though they didn't really control us, they did monitor our movement across their scope. I heard a Cessna ask for a readout of its groundspeed. "90 knots" Center replied. Moments later, a Twin Beech required the same. "120 knots," Center answered. We weren't the only ones proud of our groundspeed that day as almost instantly an F-18 smugly transmitted, "Ah, Center, Dusty 52 requests groundspeed readout." There was a slight pause, then the response, "525 knots on the ground, Dusty." Another silent pause. As I was thinking to myself how ripe a situation this was, I heard a familiar click of a radio transmission coming from my backseater. It was at that precise moment I realized Walt and I had become a real crew, for we were both thinking in unison. "Center, Aspen 20, you got a groundspeed readout for us?" There was a longer than normal pause.... "Aspen, I show 1,742 knots." No further inquiries were heard on that frequency.
In another famous SR-71 story, Los Angeles Center reported receiving a request for clearance to FL 60 (60,000ft).
The incredulous controller, with some disdain in his voice, asked, "How do you plan to get up to 60,000 feet?
The pilot (obviously a sled driver), responded, " We don't plan to go up to it, we plan to come down to it..."
He was cleared...
- "Nobody came out that night, not one was ever seen. But Old Man Stauf is waiting there, crazy sick and mean!"
Bill was a groundman for my grandfather, Einar, when they were spin-testing the F-14. They jointly invented a difficult manoeuvre to escape from a frisbee-like uncontrolled highly stable spin that had caused several F-14s to crash. It's fantastic to see that Bill Dana is finally getting his wings.
That's great. This has been bugging me for years.
The reluctant astronaut. Too un-PC to be seen these days. That Bill Dana is still out and about making the occasional standup appearance.
"What will you do if you're lost in space?"
"I plan to cry a lot!"
Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
The Fastest Man On Earth(TM) couldn't be here to accept his wings (rightfully deserved at that).
He flew the X-15 at 7,274 KM/hr, or Mach 6.7 to get some real grasp on that speed, as well as at an altitude greater than 50 miles, or 80 KM.
The X-15 crew had to complete the astronaut training curriculum in order to fly the X-15, but that's beside the qualification required to recieve an Astronaut Wing, that being flying in space at an altitude greater than 50 miles, or 80 KM.
Highlight of his X-15 (stolen from wikipedia):
He had more than his share of eventful flights in the X-15. While climbing through 107,000 feet at Mach 4.17 on June 29, 1967, he suffered a total electrical failure and all onboard systems shutdown. After arching over at 173,000 feet, he calmly set up a visual approach and, resorting to old-fashioned "seat-of-the-pants" flying, he glided down to a safe emergency landing at Mud Lake, Nevada. For his remarkable feat of airmanship that day, he earned a Distinguished Flying Cross.
On October 3, 1967, Knight set a world aircraft speed record by piloting the X-15A-2 to 4,520 miles per hour (Mach 6.7) -- a record that still stands today. During 16 flights in the aircraft, Knight also became one of only five pilots to earn their astronaut's wings by flying an airplane in space, reaching an altitude of 280,500 feet.
(diggs into bag of Trollchow(tm) bones)
Because we have more than enough bullets to take out radicals, we have pleanty of money, and they deserve them.
(tosses Trollchow(tm) bone over shoulder while walking away)
You can find some of the wings here.
So click the mous.
That accident was in 1966.
The clearance system sounds logical. It is not. It is completely arbitrary. -- John Bolton
These guys got plenty of recognition and admiration of their peers, which matters a whole lot more than these wings ever do. Wings is just a PR-opportunity for politicians; and really benifits the guy handing out the wings far more than the guy getting them.
If you wanted to recognise their talents; give them a position of leadership and authority within nasa - or if their talents are no longer useful give them a bonus retroactively.
This reminds me of dot-coms when the money ran dry giving out "special tee-shirts" instead of raises to try to "help morale".
I believe the last known living specimen of the Penis Fish is otherwise known as Jeff Gannon.
Helicopter pilots gets wings. Yet only an aerodynamicist would quibble about rotor blades being wings. Certainly the general public thinks of rotor blades as rotors, not wings. "Look ma, no wings!"
Submarines have diving planes which are actually wings. But they don't get wing pins, they get dolphins.
Cars have wings. Everyone calls them wings. But they don't fly.
Infuriate left and right
ell oh ell
This is no sillier than submariners getting dolpin pins. I don't think that just because you passed sub training you are now an orca. The pin is a symbol of an acomplishment or a communion.
zipping past at very, very high speed.
/ HTML/E-16808.html
"Dana flew the X-15 research airplane 16 times, reaching a top speed of 3,897 miles per hour and a peak altitude of 310,000 feet (almost 59 miles high).http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/X-15
59 Miles should be enough to grant you space wings. They asked for a bit more for the Xprize (328,000 feet) but it is true than even spaceShipOne is gloating about "SpaceShipOne Wins X-Prize - Breaks X-15 altitude record"...
Now, if he had won the prize money, he might have been more "impressed" with the matter...
It takes 40+ muscles to frown, but only four to extend your arm and bitchslap the motherfucker
Two of these three are dead, and I suspect Bill Dana is in his 70's, and probably doesn't care much. When you are young, flying on adrenaline and have a pretty high mortality rate, the small regconitions like wings and honors and medals mean a lot more. If it takes 40+ years to deliver them, after you have calmed down a bit and had a full life, it probably doesn't mean a whole lot for the people (well, person) it's being awarded to. I think it's being done to make the institution feel better about itself, not particularly for Dana, McKay, or Walker.
This is slashdot. Convert We're into Were. It's a question by someone unfamiliar with the English language and its odd spelling.
Infuriate left and right
I would like to see our political leaders adopt the character of their predecessors and NOT LIE the country into wars, or exploit for political gain public tragedies that occurred because of THEIR incompetency.
Working and living around Edwards AFB should qualify as a remote tour. . .
(Hint: keep zooming out until you find Rosamond, Lancaster, and Palmdale, California. Then zoom out some more until you find Los Angeles)
What?
It was much more innovative, and leading edge than the space prject, in a lot of ways. And, of course, the US could have beaten the soviets for the first guy in space if one of the X-15 pilots had just pulled up a bit... (Yes, the X-15s were capable of breaching escape velocity, I think they were told quite carefully *not* to go up, however, as there was nowhere near enough fuel or dozens of other things to get back down...)
I remember about 25 years ago reading that civilians in space could not become titled astronauts. I thought it was a crock then and now. I can understand not wanting to "dilute" the "Best and brightest" with people from different countries, teachers, etc. But c'mon, if they make it, they make it. Times have changed. The cold war is over.
maybe Maurice Minnifield wil be recognized now.
I grew up in South Africa and we had neither TV nor an open press, and we missed the moon landings, but my father collected national geographic and my childhood dreams were filled with articles and photos of brave men piloting rocket powered craft like the X-15 without the benefit of modern technology to unheard of speeds and heights and controlled landings.
Those guys deserve medals, not just astronaut's wings.
But Goose could have been saved if only Maverick had known this move! Wait, on second thought...
[UID-HeinzIntel]
... unlike John Glenn, who was just "spam in a can" in both his flights, these men actually had to fly this craft both in space with reaction controls and in the atmosphere. Note also that the great Neil Armstrong was one of these real men who flew the gloriuos and successful X-15.
I think John Kittinger should've gotten astronaut wings too...even if he didn't go higher than 100000 feet. Well, he barely reached Mach 1...
Or did you mean to do that?
You don't touch-tone a cell. You enter the number. No tones are involved. DTMF* encoding is another antique telephone technology that, like dialing, still works for legacy reasons.
*Dual Tone Multi-Frequency
Can you be Even More Awesome?!
Yep, that was it....I knew somewhere there had to be a website detailing this. I remember reading about this years ago, when I was building a plastic model of the XB-70 and did a little research into the plane. Growing up in the 60's was a great thing for a kid who like planes...there were TONS of things going on research wise, and all sorts of fantastic stories came out of the old Muroc dry lakebed......if only the catus could talk :)
Yeah, that's one of my "dream stops" that I want to make some day. I got to one of them this spring when on the way back from the South Dakota, black hills area, we detoured through the Omaha Nebraska area and spent a few hours at the SAC museum, halfway between Lincoln and Omaha. The size of the Convair/Consolidated B-36 is impressive, but I still want to get to the AF Museum and see that Valkerie. Here's a pan-o-rama of the main hanger at Omaha http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b29/p51d007/Hang erPanorama1.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b29/p51d007/Hang erPanorama1.jpg
The automatic control system failed on the last Mercury flight. Gordon Cooper switched to manual control for the reentry, and did such a great job that he splashed down about 4 miles from the recovery ship. See details.
Kevin Horton
A lot of folks here cite Tom Wolfe's book or the NASA website. The best book I've read giving an internal perspective on the X-15 program is At the Edge of Space: The X-15 Flight Program by Milton O. Thompson, who was one of the pilots and a close friend of Bill Dana. It talks about how they prepared for a flight, the types of things that went wrong, life around Edwards and the Flight Research Center, etc. It is in many ways comparable to Yeager's autobiography, but set in the timeframe of the X-15 and lifting bodies.