William H. Dana
Encyclopedia
Career
Dana was born in Pasadena, CaliforniaPasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, November 3, 1930, received his Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy in 1952 and served four years as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. He joined NASA after receiving a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in 1958.
NASA
Dana was Chief Engineer at NASA's Dryden Flight Research CenterDryden Flight Research Center
The Dryden Flight Research Center , located inside Edwards Air Force Base, is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. On March 26, 1976 it was named in honor of the late Hugh L. Dryden, a prominent aeronautical engineer who at the time of his death in 1965 was NASA's deputy administrator...
, Edwards, California, from 1993 until 1998, when he retired after almost 40 years of distinguished service to NASA. Formerly an aerospace research pilot, Dana flew the F-100 variable stability research aircraft and the Advanced Fighter Technology Integration/F-16 aircraft as well as many others.
Before his assignment as Chief Engineer, he was Assistant Chief of the Flight Operations Division, a position he assumed after serving since 1986 as Chief Pilot. He was also a project pilot on the F-15 HIDEC (Highly Integrated Digital Electronic Control) research program, and a co-project pilot on the F-18 High Angle of Attack research program.
As a research pilot, Dana was involved in some of the most significant aeronautical programs carried out at Dryden. For his service as a flight research pilot, he received NASA's Distinguished Service Medal in 1997. In 2000 he was awarded the Milton O. Thompson Lifetime Achievement Award by the Dryden Flight Research Center.
From 1960 through 1962 he was a pilot astronaut in the U.S. Air Force X-20 Dyna-Soar
X-20 Dyna-Soar
The X-20 Dyna-Soar was a United States Air Force program to develop a spaceplane that could be used for a variety of military missions, including reconnaissance, bombing, space rescue, satellite maintenance, and sabotage of enemy satellites...
program.
Dana was a project pilot on the hypersonic North American X-15
North American X-15
The North American X-15 rocket-powered aircraft/spaceplane was part of the X-series of experimental aircraft, initiated with the Bell X-1, that were made for the USAAF/USAF, NACA/NASA, and the USN. The X-15 set speed and altitude records in the early 1960s, reaching the edge of outer space and...
research aircraft and flew the rocket-powered vehicle 16 times, reaching a top speed of 3,897 mph. His peak altitude of 307,000 feet (nearly 59 miles high) technically qualified him for the Astronaut Badge
Astronaut Badge
The Astronaut Badge is a badge of the United States, awarded to military and civilian pilots who have completed training and performed a successful spaceflight...
. However, at the time he had not been recognized as astronaut until 2005. He was the pilot on the final (199th) flight of the 10-year program.
In the late 1960s and in the 1970s, Dana was a project pilot on the manned lifting body
Lifting body
A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage with little or no conventional wing...
program, which flew several versions of the wingless vehicles and produced data that helped in development of the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
. He completed one NASA M2-F1
NASA M2-F1
The NASA M2-F1 was a lightweight, unpowered prototype aircraft, developed to flight test the wingless lifting body concept. It looked like a "flying bathtub," and was designated the M2-F1, the "M" referring to "manned" and "F" referring to "flight" version. In 1962, NASA Dryden management approved...
, nine Northrop HL-10
Northrop HL-10
The Northrop HL-10 was one of five heavyweight lifting body designs flown at NASA's Flight Research Center , Edwards, California, from July 1966 to November 1975 to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering and landing a low lift-over-drag vehicle designed for reentry from space...
, nineteen Northrop M2-F3
Northrop M2-F3
The Northrop M2-F3 was a heavyweight lifting body rebuilt from the Northrop M2-F2 after it crashed at the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1967. It was modified with an additional third vertical fin - centered between the tip fins - to improve control characteristics...
and two Martin Marietta X-24B
Martin Marietta X-24B
|-See also:-References:Miller, Jay. The X-Planes: X-1 to X-45. Hinckley, UK: Midland, 2001.Rose, Bill, 2008. Secret Projects: Military Space Technology. Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing.-External links:* * at Encyclopedia Astronautica...
flights, for a total of 31 lifting body
Lifting body
A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage with little or no conventional wing...
missions.
Personal life
Dana has been married to Judi Dana since 1962. Together they have raised four children, Sidney, Matt, Janet (Jan), and Leslie (Cricket). They have seven grandchildren: Eric (19), Lisa (16), Nick (14), Jenna (11), Devon (11), Kayla (8), and Drew (4). He now lives in Phoenix, Arizona.Honors
For his contributions to the lifting body program, Dana received the NASA Exceptional Service MedalNASA Exceptional Service Medal
The NASA Exceptional Service Medal is an award granted to U.S. government employees for significant sustained performance characterized by unusual initiative or creative ability that clearly demonstrates substantial improvement in engineering, aeronautics, space flight, administration, support, or...
. In 1976 he received the Haley Space Flight Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics is the professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA was founded in 1963 from the merger of two earlier societies: the American Rocket Society , founded in 1930 as the American Interplanetary Society , and the Institute...
for his research work on the M2-F3 lifting body control systems.
A member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots
Society of Experimental Test Pilots
The Society of Experimental Test Pilots is an international organization that seeks to promote air safety and contributes to aeronautical advancement by promoting sound aeronautical design and development; interchanging ideas, thoughts and suggestions of the members, assisting in the professional...
, Dana is the author of several technical papers. In 1993, he was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor
Aerospace Walk of Honor
The Aerospace Walk of Honor in Lancaster, California, USA, honors test pilots who have contributed to aviation and space research and development....
.
On 23 August 2005, NASA officially conferred on Dana his astronaut's wings.