Walker

Personal data:

Birthdate:  20 Feb 1921 Birthplace:  Washington / Pennsylvania Marital status:  married Children:  four Selection date:  1960 Selection group:   Job:  PLT Status:  Ret. 22 Aug 1963 Date of death:  08 Jun 1966 Place of death:  Barstow / California

Walker before X-15,Credit: NASA.

Suborbital Spaceflights (above 80 km):

Walker before X-15.

Walker in flight-suit

Additional information

• Walker was born February 20, 1921, in Washington, Pa. He lived there until graduating from Washington and Jefferson College in 1942, with a B.A. degree in Physics.
• During World War II he flew P-38 fighters for the Air Force, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with Seven Oak Clusters.
• Joseph A. Walker was a Chief Research Pilot at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center during the mid-1960s. He joined the NACA in March 1945, and served as project pilot at the Edwards flight research facility on such pioneering research projects as the D-558-1, D-558-2, X-1, X-3, X-4, X-5, and the X-15. He also flew programs involving the F-100, F-101, F-102, F-104, and the B-47.
• Walker made the first NASA X-15 flight on March 25, 1960. He flew the research aircraft 24 times and achieved its fastest speed and highest altitude. He attained a speed of 4,104 mph (Mach 5.92) during a flight on June 27, 1962, and reached an altitude of 354,300 feet on August 22, 1963 (his last X-15 flight).
• He was the first man to pilot the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) that was used to develop piloting and operational techniques for lunar landings.
• Walker was the recipient of many awards during his 21 years as a research pilot. These include the 1961 Robert J. Collier Trophy, 1961 Harmon International Trophy for Aviators, the 1961 Kincheloe Award and 1961 Octave Chanute Award. He received an honorary Doctor of Aeronautical Sciences degree from his alma mater in June of 1962. Walker was named Pilot of the Year in 1963 by the National Pilots Association.
• Killed when F-104 he was flying in formation with XB-70 number 2 became caught in a vortex, went out of control, colliding with the XB-70 and resulting in the destruction of both aircraft.

During an aerial photoshoot for General Electric on June 8, 1966, an F-104 Starfighter flown by NASA Chief Test Pilot Joe Walker collided with an XB-70 supersonic nuclear bomber. The Starfighter inadvertently drifted into the right wing of the XB-70 due to vortices produced by the wing and exploded in the air, while the Valkyrie crashed into the desert. Walker, who′d become the second person to fly a winged aircraft into space in 1963, is considered to be one of the greatest pilots to ever live. He was killed along with Valkyrie co-pilot Carl Cross. Valkyrie pilot Al White ejected and survived, but suffered grave injuries.