Fastest manually controlled flight in atmosphere during atmospheric reentry of STS-2 mission

What to remember

On 14 November 1981, Space Shuttle Columbia was returning from STS-2, the program's second orbital flight. During atmospheric reentry, commander Joe H. Engle flew by hand at 28,228 km/h (17,540 mph): the fastest manually controlled flight ever made in the atmosphere.

Engle was a seasoned test pilot. He was one of twelve pilots to fly the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane run jointly by the Air Force and NASA, and three of his flights went above 50 miles (80 km), earning him astronaut wings under the American definition of where space begins.

Selected for NASA's 5th Astronaut Group in 1966, he was backup Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 14 and was originally scheduled to walk on the Moon on Apollo 17. In 1977 he also flew two of the Shuttle's Approach and Landing Tests before taking command of STS-2.