10 June 1969: The U.S. Air Force donated the first North American Aviation X-15, serial number 56-6670, to the Smithsonian Institution for display at the National Air and Space Museum. The first of three X-15A hypersonic research rocketplanes built by North American for the Air Force and the National Advisory Committee (NACA, the predecessor of NASA), 56-6670 made the first glide flight and
Byron Lichtenberg was an Air Force fighter pilot for 23 years, flying the F-4, F-100, and A-10. Survived 238 combat missions during the Vietnam War, and received 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 10 Air Medals, and numerous other decorations.
While not acting as a pilot, I flew two Space Shuttle missions as a Payload Specialist. These were STS-9 on Columbia, called Spacelab-1, Nov-Dec 1983, and STS-45, on Atlantis called Atlas-1, Mar-Apr 1992.
Byron then worked as a captain for Southwest Airlines.
He is a founding member of Association of Space Explorers and X-Prize Foundation.
