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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 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
even if surviving pilot Bill Dana seems unimpressed by the whole affair.
Had I been as high as him, I doubt I would care much of those wings either... he knows he was there, he saw it, and it must've some been very, very beautiful scenery.
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.
Do you think you could be any more anal? To pick apart the decoration in such a way as you have shows that you either have too much time on your hands or just like to argue about things to "prove" you're smarter than those around you. Sure I might get modded as a troll but wow! There are more important things in life than worrying about whether astronaughts should get a wing decoration or not. They are pilots - they fly. Definition of fly could be debated in your terms of thinking however I think the term stil applies - even though it might not be conventional aerodynamics using lift, drag, and airfoils.
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.
... 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.