Robert A. Rushworth

Robert A. Rushworth
Robert A. Rushworth
	X-15 Flight 87
Retirement	June 1, 1981
Military career
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army Air Forces; United States Air Force
Years of service	1944–1981
Rank	Major general
Battles/wars	World War II; Korean War; Vietnam War
Awards	Legion of Merit; Distinguished Flying Cross; Air Medal; James H. Doolittle Award

Robert Aitken "Bob" Rushworth (October 9, 1924 – March 18, 1993

aeronautical engineer, test pilot and astronaut. He was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the Air Force and NASA

. He flew 34 of the program's 199 flights, more than any other pilot.

On June 27, 1963, he flew the X-15 to an altitude above 50 miles, thereby qualifying as an astronaut according to the United States definition of the boundary of space. However, this altitude did not surpass the Kármán line, the internationally accepted boundary of 100 kilometers (62 miles).

Biography

Early life and education

Rushworth was born on October 9, 1924, in

Washington D.C.^[4]

Flight experience and military service

In September 1944, Rushworth earned his pilot wings and a second lieutenant commission following his aviation cadet training program graduation. His first assignment was with the 12th Combat Cargo Squadron in February 1945, in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, where he flew

Dow Air Force Base

.

Following his graduation from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology in 1954, Rushworth stayed at

Man In Space Soonest

project proceeded according to plan.

On a later X-15 flight, he was awarded a

12th Tactical Fighter Wing and flew 189 combat missions

.

Following his return from Vietnam, from April 1969 to January 1971, he was program director of the

Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, where his responsibilities included the major test programs, including the F-5, A-10, F-15, YF-16, YF-17 and B-1, and as the commander of the Air Force Test and Evaluation Center at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico

.

At the time of his retirement as a

major general, he was vice commander, Aeronautical Systems Division, Air Force Systems Command, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where he dealt directly with senior deputies and managers and assisted the management of major acquisition programs such as the F-5, A-10, F-15, F-16 and B-1 as well as numerous modernization programs like the B-52 and C-5

. He held this position since October 1976.

Rushworth was a fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP), and in 1975 received the SETP's James H. Doolittle Award for "outstanding accomplishment in technical management or engineering achievement in aerospace technology". Rushworth retired on June 1, 1981.

He was rated a Command Pilot Astronaut and logged over 6,500 flying hours in more than 50 types of aircraft.^[6]

Personal

Rushworth married Joyce Butler (1925–1980) in June 1947, and they had one daughter, Cheri (born March 29, 1957).^[7] He died of a heart attack in Camarillo, California, on March 18, 1993, at the age of 68. He is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in his hometown Madison, Maine.^[8]^[9]

Awards and honors

"God, I don't understand it. Here's a guy hitchhiking to Vietnam."

—A general officer about Rushworth's intentions to go into combat in Vietnam.^[10]

Military and NASA awards

Command Pilot Wings with astronaut device
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal
Meritorious Service Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal
NASA Exceptional Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
National Defense Service Medal with star
Vietnam Service Medal
Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal

Other awards and honors

Iven C. Kincheloe Award
James H. Doolittle Award
John J. Montgomery Award
Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots
Enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1990.^[11]
Inducted into the
International Space Hall of Fame in 1991.^[12]

Inducted posthumously into the Aerospace Walk of Honor in 1994.^[13]^[14]

References

^ "California Death Index, 1940–1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPZY-79C : 26 November 2014), Robert Aitken Rushworth, 18 Mar 1993; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
^ Robert Aitken Rushworth
^ Robert A. Rushworth background
^ "Robert A. Rushworth". Archived from the original on 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
^ "Bio: Robert A. Rushworth". Archived from the original on 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
^ Rushworth's flight statistics
^ Robert A. Rushworth personal
^ "Robert Rushworth, 68, Test Pilot of the X-15". Obituaries. The New York Times. March 28, 1993. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
^ The X-15 Rocket Plane – 2. PAYING YOUR RESPECTS
^ "Rushworth, Robert A. – Astronaut/Test Pilot". Nationalaviation.org. Archived from the original on 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
^ "National Aviation Hall of fame: Our Enshrinees". National Aviation Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on March 12, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
^ Rushworth inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame
^ Rushworth inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor Archived 2014-05-27 at the Wayback Machine
^ Johnson, Chip (September 19, 1994). "Aerospace Walk of Honor Inducts 5". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 53 – via Newspapers.com.

Bibliography

ISBN 1-56098-107-5
.

External links

[1] "California Death Index, 1940–1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPZY-79C : 26 November 2014), Robert Aitken Rushworth, 18 Mar 1993; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.

[2] Robert Aitken Rushworth

[3] Robert A. Rushworth background

[4] "Robert A. Rushworth". Archived from the original on 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2014-05-01.

[5] "Bio: Robert A. Rushworth". Archived from the original on 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2017-03-15.

[6] Rushworth's flight statistics

[7] Robert A. Rushworth personal

[8] "Robert Rushworth, 68, Test Pilot of the X-15". Obituaries. The New York Times. March 28, 1993. Retrieved 15 March 2017.

[9] The X-15 Rocket Plane – 2. PAYING YOUR RESPECTS

[10] "Rushworth, Robert A. – Astronaut/Test Pilot". Nationalaviation.org. Archived from the original on 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2020-04-03.

[11] "National Aviation Hall of fame: Our Enshrinees". National Aviation Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on March 12, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2011.

[12] Rushworth inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame

[13] Rushworth inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor Archived 2014-05-27 at the Wayback Machine

[14] Johnson, Chip (September 19, 1994). "Aerospace Walk of Honor Inducts 5". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 53 – via Newspapers.com.

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v t e North American X-15
Operators	NASA United States Air Force
Manufacturer	North American Aviation
Pilots	Michael Adams Neil Armstrong Scott Crossfield William Dana Joe Engle William Knight John McKay Forrest Petersen Robert Rushworth Milton Thompson Joseph Walker Robert White
Flights	List of X-15 flights Flight 35 (first flight into the mesosphere, Walker) Flight 62 (first spaceflight, White) Flight 87 (spaceflight, Rushworth) Flight 90 (spaceflight, Walker) Flight 91 (spaceflight, program altitude record, Walker) Flight 188 (program speed record, Knight) Flight 191 (spaceflight, fatality, Adams)
Related	Bell X-1 Boeing B-52 Stratofortress (Balls 8) Hypersonic speed List of X-planes Sub-orbital spaceflight