Robert Michael White

Robert M. White
1957 MISS Group
Missions	X-15 Flight 62
Retirement	February 1, 1981
Military career
Allegiance	Army Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star (4) Legion of Merit Distinguished Flying Cross (5) Air Medal (17)

Robert Michael White (July 6, 1924 – March 17, 2010) (

. As an engineer, he supervised the design and development of several modern military aircraft.

On July 17, 1962, 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.

Background and career

White was born in New York City on July 6, 1924. After graduating from high school, he entered active military service in November 1942 as an aviation cadet in the United States Army Air Forces, and received his pilot wings and commission as a second lieutenant in February 1944.

During

until his release in April 1945.

He then returned to the United States, left active duty in December 1945, and became a member of the

in 1966.

White was recalled to active duty in May 1951 for the

, New York.

Test pilot

White attended the

. He was promoted to Deputy Chief of the Flight Test Operations Division, later becoming Assistant Chief of the Manned Spacecraft Operations Branch.

White was designated the Air Force's primary pilot for the

program, had it come to fruition.

In February 1961, White unofficially set a new

awarded White his new rating as a Command Pilot Astronaut.

On July 17, 1962,

, becoming the first "winged" astronaut, and one of a few who have flown into space without a conventional spacecraft. Major Bob White was featured with a cover story in the August 3, 1962, issue of Life magazine, detailing his July 17 flight.

Pilot Robert White commented on his high altitude X-15 flights:

My flights to 217,000 feet [66 km] and 314,750 feet [96 km] were very dramatic in revealing the Earth's curvature ... at my highest altitude I could turn my head through a 180-degree arc and wow!—the Earth is really round. At my peak altitude I was roughly over the Arizona/California border in the area of Las Vegas, and this was how I described it: Looking to my left I felt I could spit into the Gulf of California; looking to my right I felt I could toss a dime into San Francisco Bay.

Post-test pilot career

In October 1963, he returned to

Systems Program Office, where he served from September 1966 to May 1967.

In May 1967, during the

, serving as chief of the Attack Division in the Directorate of Combat Operations.

White returned to the United States and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in June 1968, where he served as director of the

F-15 Eagle

Systems Program, responsible for managing development and production planning, in the Aeronautical Systems Division, Air Force Systems Command.

On July 31, 1970, White assumed duties as commander of the

Airborne Warning and Control System

. In October 1971, he completed the Naval Test Parachutist course and was awarded parachutist's wings.

He served at the Flight Test Center until October 17, 1972. The following month, he assumed the duties of Commandant,

AFROTC

), responsible for the entire AFROTC officer accession program at all colleges and universities across the United States.

White was promoted to the grade of

. He retired from active duty on February 1, 1981.

In 1992, White was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor.^[5] General White was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio, on 15 July 2006. A rumor abounds that in honor of his achievements, the Scaled Composites White Knight spacecraft launch plane was named after White and fellow X-15 pilot Pete Knight. Space Ship One and White Knight pilot/astronaut Brian Binnie reports this is not true.

He died on March 17, 2010, at the age of 85.

Awards and decorations

Astronaut Device
Air Force Parachutist Badge
Air Force Cross	Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with cluster	Army Distinguished Service Medal	Silver Star with three clusters
Legion of Merit	Distinguished Flying Cross with four clusters	Bronze Star	Air Medal with sixteen clusters
Presidential Unit Citation	"V" Device	Organizational Excellence Award	NASA Distinguished Service Medal
Prisoner of War Medal	Army Good Conduct Medal	American Campaign Medal	European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three stars
World War II Victory Medal	National Defense Service Medal with one star	Korean Service Medal with one star	Vietnam Service Medal with three stars
Air Force Longevity Service Award with eight clusters	Armed Forces Reserve Medal	Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon	Armed Forces Honor Medal
Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm	United Nations Korea Medal	Vietnam Campaign Medal	Korean War Service Medal

Other achievements

• 1960 Harmon International Aviators Trophy^[6]
• 1961 Collier Trophy, for invaluable technological contributions to the advancement of flight, and for great skill and courage as test pilots for the X-15.^[7]
• 1962 John J. Montgomery Award
• 1991 Elected to the American Philosophical Society^[8]

Air Force Cross citation

Colonel Robert M. White

U.S. Air Force

Date Of Action: August 11, 1967

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, United States Code, awards the Air Force Cross to Colonel Robert M. White, for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as an F-105 Mission Commander near Hanoi, North Vietnam, on 11 August 1967. On that date, Colonel White led the entire combat force against a key railroad and highway bridge in the vicinity of Hanoi. In spite of 14 surface-to-air missile launches, MIG interceptor attacks, and intense antiaircraft artillery fire, he gallantly led the attack. By being the first aircraft to dive through the dark clouds of bursting flak, Colonel White set an example that inspired the remaining attacking force to destroy the bridge without a single aircraft being lost to the hostile gunners. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces, Colonel White reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

References

Bibliography

• Thompson, Milton O. (1992). At The Edge Of Space: The X-15 Flight Program, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington and London.
  ISBN 1-56098-107-5

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Michael White.

• White's official Air Force biography at archive.today (archived 2012-12-12)
• NASA Images: Major Robert M. White is seen here next to the X-15 aircraft after a research flight
• Astronautix biography of Robert Michael White
• Spacefacts biography of Robert Michael White
• First Flight Society: Major Robert M. White
• Robert Michael White Archived 2015-09-10 at the Wayback Machine at the National Aviation Hall of Fame
• Veteran Tributes biography: Robert M. White
• "A Place called the Doumer Bridge", AIR FORCE Magazine, February 1988
• Iven C. Kincheloe Awards

Preceded by Iven Carl Kincheloe Jr.

Human altitude record 1960-1961

Succeeded by Joseph A. Walker