William J. Knight

John William " Pete " Knight ( born November 18, 1929 in Noblesville, Indiana; † 7 May 2004, Duarte, California ) was an American astronaut and test pilot. With 7274 km / h, set up with a North American X-15, he holds the world speed record for a manned aircraft.

Life

1958 Knight made ​​the "Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering " from the USAF Institute of Technology. On September 20, 1962, he was selected as the pilot of the X-20 Dyna- Soar, and then began training on the "Air Force Flight Test Center" Edwards Air Force Base, California. Since the program was terminated on December 10, 1963 due to financial matters (all funds were the Apollo program supplied ), resigned from Knight from the program. He remained with the USAF as a pilot of the X-15, with the he set up the valid today world speed record for manned aircraft on 3 October 1967. Overall, he conducted 16 flights with the X -15. In 1982 he retired from the USAF. From 1988 to 1992 he was mayor of Palmdale, California, and was elected in 1996 to the Senate of the State of California. He died on 7 May 2004 from leukemia.