Ellison Shoji Onizuka was an American astronaut, engineer, and USAF test pilot from Kealakekua, Hawaii, who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-51-C. He died in the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger, on which he was serving as Mission Specialist for mission STS-51-L. He was the first Asian American and the first person of Japanese origin to reach space.
Joe Henry Engle is an American pilot, aeronautical engineer and former NASA astronaut. He was the commander of two Space Shuttle missions including STS-2 in 1981, the program's second orbital flight. He also flew three flights in the Shuttle program's 1977 Approach and Landing Tests. Engle is one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the Air Force and NASA.
Brian Duffy is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and a former NASA astronaut. He flew aboard four Space Shuttle missions.
The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School is the Air Force's advanced flight training school that trains experimental test pilots, flight test engineers, and flight test navigators to carry out tests and evaluations of new aerospace weapon systems and also other aircraft of the U.S. Air Force. This school was established on 9 September 1944 as the Flight Test Training Unit at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (AFB) in Dayton, Ohio. To take advantage of the uncongested skies, usually superb flying weather, and the lack of developed zones in the event of crashing, the test pilot school was officially moved to its present location at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert of Southern California on 4 February 1951.
Steven Wayne Lindsey is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and NASA astronaut. Lindsey served as Chief of the NASA Astronaut Office from September 2006 until October 2009.
Major Edward Galen Givens Jr., USAF was a United States Air Force officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. Selected by NASA in 1966 as a member of the fifth astronaut group, he died in an automobile accident before being assigned to a prime or backup spaceflight crew.
Officer Training School (OTS) is a United States Air Force and United States Space Force commissioning program located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.
The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) is a graduate school and provider of professional and continuing education for the United States Armed Forces and is part of the United States Air Force. It is in Ohio at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton. AFIT is a component of the Air University and Air Education and Training Command.
Brigadier General Frank Kendall "Pete" Everest Jr. was a U.S. Air Force officer who is best remembered as an aeroengineer and test pilot during the 1950s.
James Patrick "Mash" Dutton, Jr. is an engineer, NASA astronaut pilot of the Class of 2004, and a former test pilot in the US Air Force with the rank of colonel.
Eugene Peyton Deatrick Jr. was a United States Air Force colonel, test pilot, and combat veteran. He is best recognized for his role in the rescue of United States Navy Lieutenant Dieter Dengler during the Vietnam War. The rescue was recounted in the Werner Herzog films Little Dieter Needs to Fly and Rescue Dawn and the national bestseller Hero Found: The Greatest POW Escape of the Vietnam War by author Bruce Henderson.
U.S. Air Force aeronautical ratings are military aviation skill standards established and awarded by the United States Air Force for commissioned officers participating in "regular and frequent flight", either aerially or in space, in performance of their duties. USAF aeronautical badges, commonly referred to as "wings" from their shape and their historical legacy, are awarded by the Air Force in recognition of degrees of achievement and experience. Officers earning these badges and maintaining their requirements are classified as rated officers and receive additional pay and allowances.
Richard Earl "Dick" Lawyer was a USAF astronaut, test pilot, and combat veteran. Although he trained for the USAF Manned Orbital Laboratory (MOL), the program was cancelled before any of the MOL crews reached space.
The commanding officer of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School is known as its Commandant. The commandant manages the school which is a military unit that operates in a distinctly academic atmosphere. The position is usually held by a colonel selected by the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) commander although this authority may be delegated to the commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC). The commandant oversees all flying training, academic instruction, budgeting, and curriculum administration at the school. The commandant also chairs a board of officers that selects the school's students. The selection board consists of flight test squadron commanders with a majority of the board members being TPS graduates. The commandant determines enrollment requirements and associated schedules. Every three years, the commandant conducts a review of the school's curriculum with participation from flight test squadrons, the U.S. Naval TPS, and operational squadrons.
Jack David Fischer is an American engineer, test pilot and a former NASA astronaut. Fischer was selected in June 2009 as a member of the NASA Astronaut Group 20 and qualified as an astronaut in 2011. He made his first spaceflight in April 2017, as a flight engineer for Expedition 51/52 on the International Space Station.
The Flying / Aviation Cadet Pilot Training Program was originally created by the U.S. Army to train its pilots. Originally created in 1907 by the U.S. Army Signal Corps, it expanded as the Army's air assets increased. Candidates originally had to be between the ages of 19 and 25, athletic, and honest. Two years of college or three years of a scientific or technical education were required. Cadets were supposed to be unmarried and pledged not to marry during training. From 1907 to 1920, pilot officers were considered part of the Signal Corps or the Signal Officer Reserve Corps. After 1920, they were considered part of their own separate organization, the U.S. Army Air Service (1918–1926).
James E. Brown III is an aerospace executive, test pilot instructor, and former United States Air Force officer. As of 2021, he is the president of the National Test Pilot School located in Mojave, California.
Steven M. Rainey is Lockheed Martin's chief F-22 test pilot and a former United States Air Force officer. He is noted for a number of achievements while flight testing the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. He was the first USAF pilot to fly the aircraft, the first pilot to perform aerial refueling in the F-22, and the first pilot to fly cross-country in the Raptor.
Colonel Noel Zamot is a retired United States Air Force officer who was the first Hispanic Commandant of the Air Force's elite Test Pilot School. Zamot is a former combat and test aviator with over 1900 hours in B-52, B-1B, B-2A, F-16D and over 20 other aircraft. He created the first system for testing complex military systems in contested cyberspace for the United States. Zamot is also the founder of Corvus Analytics, a consulting firm which helps its clients to design and develop cyber resiliency for complex systems.
United States 
