MILTON O. THOMPSON, NASA

Milt Thompson flew the X-15 for 22 months from 29 October 1963 until 25 August 1965, making 14 flights with the XLR99 engine. Thompson reached Mach 5.48, a maximum speed of 3,723 mph, and an altitude of 214,100 feet.

Milton Orville Thompson was born on 4 May 1926 in Crookston, Minnesota. Thompson began flying with the Navy and served in China and Japan during World War II. Following six years of active duty, Thompson entered the University of Washington and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in engineering in 1953. After graduation Thompson became a flight-test engineer

for the Boeing Aircraft Company, testing, among other things, the B-52.

Thompson joined the HSFS on 19 March 1956 and became a research pilot in January 1958. At the time, there were only five pilots at the station: Joe Walker, Stan Butchart, Jack McKay, Neil Armstrong, and Thompson. In 1962, Thompson became the only civilian pilot on the X-20 Dyna – Soar, but Robert McNamara canceled that program just over a year later. On 16 August 1963, Thompson became the first person to fly a lifting body, the lightweight M2-F1. He flew it 47 times and made the first five flights of the all-metal M2-F2. Thompson concluded his active flying career in 1967 and became chief of research projects two years later. In 1975, he became chief engineer and retained the position until his death on 6 August 1993. Thompson also served on NASA’s Space Transportation System Technology Steering Committee during the 1970s. In this role he was successful in leading the effort to design the Space Shuttle orbiters for power-off landings rather than increase weight with air-breathing engines. His committee work earned him the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

Thompson was a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and he received the organization’s Iven C. Kincheloe Trophy as the outstanding experimental test pilot of 1966 for his research flights in the M2 lifting bodies. He also received the 1967 Octave Chanute award from the AIAA for his lifting-body research. In 1990, the National Aeronautics Association selected Thompson as a recipient of its Elder Statesman of Aviation award (this award has been presented each year since 1955 to individuals who made contributions "of significant value over a period of years" in the field of aeronautics). Milt Thompson died on 6 August 1993.Г26

Thompson wrote about his experiences with the X-15 in At the Edge of Space: The X-15 Flight Program (Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992). Anybody who is interested in an inside look at the program should pick up a copy; it is a fascinating read.