Walker Joseph home
topic index
Walker Joseph
Credit - www.spacefacts.de
Joseph Albert Walker American Pilot Test Pilot. Born 20 February 1921. Died 8 June 1966.

Personal: Male, Married, Four children. Born in Washington, Pennsylvania, USA. Killed in collision of F-104 chase plane with XB-70 bomber. NASA US Army

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: Man-In-Space-Soonest - 1958, Test Pilot (USAF). Deceased Entered space service: 1960. Left space service: 22 August 1963. Number of Flights: 3.00. Total Time: 0.0223 days.

Born in Washington Pennsylvania; married, four children. Received BA degree in physics in 1942 from Washington and Jefferson College. Joined Army Air Force and flew P-38's in World War II. Joined NACA in March 1945 and served as project pilot on D-558, X-1, X-3, X-4, and X-5 before being assigned chief X-15 pilot for NASA. Obtained both USAF and FAI astronaut wings on record 108 km flight. After X-15 tested LLRV lunar module trainer. 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. Official NASA Biography

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 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.

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.

He was a charter member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and one of the first to be designated a Fellow. He was fatally injured on June 8, 1966, in a mid-air collision between an F-104 he was piloting and the XB-70.

Walker Joseph Spaceflight Log

  • 17 January 1963 Flight: X-15 Flight 77. Flight Up: X-15 Flight 77. Flight Back: X-15 Flight 77. Flight Time: 0.0065 days.
  • 19 July 1963 Flight: X-15 Flight 90. Flight Up: X-15 Flight 90. Flight Back: X-15 Flight 90. Flight Time: 0.0079 days.
  • 22 August 1963 Flight: X-15 Flight 91. Flight Up: X-15 Flight 91. Flight Back: X-15 Flight 91. Flight Time: 0.0078 days.
Walker Joseph Chronology

27 August 1951 - XS-1 Flight 153. NACA flight 52. Pilot familiarization. Reached mach 1.16 at 13420 m during four-cylinder run.

23 October 1951 - XS-1 Flight 155. NACA flight 54. Engine cut out after two ignition attempts; propellants jettisoned and flight completed as glide flight. Plane subsequently grounded because of possibility of fatigue failure of nitrogen spheres.
20 July 1955 - X-1A Flight 25. NACA flight 1. Familiarization. Walker attained mach 1.45 at 13725 m. Noted severe aileron buzz at mach 0.90 to 0.92.
8 August 1955 - X-1A Flight 26. Planned at NACA flight 2. Shortly before launch from B-29, X-1A suffered low-order explosion, later traced to detonation of Ulmer leather gaskets. Walker exited into B-29 bomb bay.
12 December 1955 - X-1E Flight 2. NACA flight 1. Glide flight for pilot check-out and low speed evaluation.
15 December 1955 - X-1E Flight 3. NACA flight 2. First powered flight. Engine ran at excessive pressure, 4 overspeeds of turbopump and 2 automatic shutdowns. Power terminated by pilot.
3 April 1956 - X-1E Flight 4. NACA flight 3. Mach 0.85 at 9150 m. Damping characteristics good; number 1 cylinder failed to fire.
30 April 1956 - X-1E Flight 5. NACA flight 4. Turbopump did not start; no engine operation.
11 May 1956 - X-1E Flight 6. NACA flight 5. Wind-up turns to Clmas from mach 0.69 to 0.84; also control pulses.
7 June 1956 - X-1E Flight 7. NACA flight 6. Mach 1.55 at 13725 m. Longitudinal and lateral trim changes in transonic region found annoying to pilot.
18 June 1956 - X-1E Flight 8. NACA flight 7. Mach 1.74 at 18300 m. Damaged on landing.
26 July 1956 - X-1E Flight 9. NACA flight 8. Subsonic because cylinders 3 and 4 world not fire.
31 August 1956 - X-1E Flight 10. NACA flight 9. Mach 2.0 at 18300 m. Sideslips, pulses, rolls.
14 September 1956 - X-1E Flight 11. NACA flight 10. Mach 2.1 at 18910 m. Stabilizer, rudder, and aileron pulses.
20 September 1956 - X-1E Flight 12. NACA flight 11. Brief engine power only; flight aborted, unspecified engine malfunction.
3 October 1956 - X-1E Flight 13. NACA flight 12. Only 60-sec rocket operation; intermittent pump operation. Flight aborted, turbopump and engine replaced.
20 November 1956 - X-1E Flight 14. NACA flight 13. No engine operation, ignition failure due to lack of manifold pressure.
25 April 1957 - X-1E Flight 15. NACA flight 14. Mach 1.71 at 20435 m. Aileron and rudder pulses.
15 May 1957 - X-1E Flight 16. NACA flight 15. Mach 2.0 at 22,265 m. Aileron pulses and rolls, sideslips, and wind-up turns. Plane severely damaged upon landing.
19 September 1957 - X-1E Flight 17. NACA flight 16. Planned mach number not attained, loss of power during pushover from climb.
8 October 1957 - X-1E Flight 18. NACA flight 17. Mach 2.24.
14 May 1958 - X-1E Flight 19. NACA flight 18. First flight with ventral fins; longitudinal and lateral stability and control maneuvers. Engine airstart made at 21,350 m.
10 June 1958 - X-1E Flight 20. NACA flight 19. Flight aborted after only 1 cylinder of engine fired. Plane damaged on landing.
25 June 1958 - Man-In-Space-Soonest. In a US Air Force briefing a preliminary astronaut selection for the Man-In-Space Soonest project is made. The list consisted of USAF test pilots Robert Walker, Scott Crossfield, Neil Armstrong, Robert Rushworth, William Bridgeman, Alvin White, Iven Kincheloe, Robert White, and Jack McKay. This was the first preliminary astronaut selection in history. The project was cancelled when NASA was formed in and took responsibility for all manned space flight on 1 August 1958. Prospective contractors estimated it would take from 12 to 30 months to put the first American in orbit. In retrospect the orbital flight portion of NASA's Mercury program was paced by the availability of the Atlas booster. Therefore it is unlikely Man-in-Space-Soonest would have put an American in orbit any earlier than Mercury.
10 September 1958 - X-1E Flight 21. NACA flight 20. Stability and control investigation with ventral fins.
17 September 1958 - X-1E Flight 22. NACA flight 21. Stability and control with ventral fins and a new stabilizer bell crank permitting greater stabilizer travel.
8 June 1966 - Test Pilot Joseph Albert Walker dies at age of 45 -- Killed in collision of F-104 chase plane with XB-70 bomber..
Bibliography:
Contact us with any corrections, additions, or comments.
Conditions for use of drawings, pictures, or other materials from this site..
To contact astronauts or cosmonauts.

© Mark Wade, 1997 - 2008 except where otherwise noted.