Henry Charles Gordon (December 23, 1925 – September 24, 1996), ( Col,

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

), was an American

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

, U.S. Air Force officer,

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...

, and

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

in the

X-20 Dyna-Soar The Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar ("Dynamic Soarer") was a United States Air Force (USAF) program to develop a spaceplane that could be used for a variety of military missions, including aerial reconnaissance, bombing, space rescue, satellite mainten ...

program.

Early life and education

Gordon was born in

Valparaiso, Indiana Valparaiso ( ), colloquially Valpo, is a city and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 34,151 at the 2020 census. History The site of present-day Valparaiso was included in the purchase of land from the ...

, on December 23, 1925. In 1950 he earned his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in

Aeronautical Engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: Aeronautics, aeronautical engineering and Astronautics, astronautical engineering. A ...

from

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, and in 1966 he earned his

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degree from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. He was married and had four children.

Test pilot

Gordon was in the Air Force, and flew

combat missions ''Combat Missions'' was a one-hour-long reality TV show produced by Mark Burnett and hosted by former '' Survivor'' castaway Rudy Boesch that aired from January to April in 2002 on the USA Network. It pits four teams of highly experienced military ...

in the

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

wars. He was selected as an astronaut in the X-20 Dyna-Soar program in April 1962 and began training at the Air Force Flight Test Center,

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He retired as an astronaut when the Dyna-Soar program was cancelled on December 10, 1963, having never flown in

space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...

. He remained in the U.S. Air Force after the Dyna-Soar program was cancelled and retired from the Air Force with the rank of Colonel.

Death

Gordon died in

Peoria, Arizona Peoria is a city in Maricopa and Yavapai counties in the state of Arizona. Most of the city is located in Maricopa County, while a portion in the north is in Yavapai County. It is a major suburb of Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, the populati ...

on September 24, 1996, age 70.

References

External links

Astronautix biography of Henry C. Gordon
* 1925 births 1996 deaths American astronauts American aerospace engineers American test pilots United States Air Force officers United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War American Korean War pilots American Vietnam War pilots Aviators from Indiana People from Valparaiso, Indiana Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics alumni Marshall School of Business alumni Engineers from Indiana 20th-century American engineers {{Astronaut-stub