James W. Wood
James W. Wood | |
---|---|
Born | Paragould, Arkansas, U.S. | August 9, 1924
Died | January 1, 1990 Melbourne, Florida, U.S. | (aged 65)
Nationality | American |
Other names | James Wayne Wood |
Alma mater | Air Force Institute of Technology, B.S. 1954 |
Occupation | Test pilot |
Space career | |
USAF Astronaut | |
Rank | Colonel, USAF |
Selection | 1960 Dyna-Soar Group 1 |
Missions | None |
James Wayne Wood (August 9, 1924 – January 1, 1990), (Col, USAF), was an American aeronautical engineer, U.S. Air Force officer, test pilot, and astronaut in the X-20 Dyna-Soar program.
Early life and education
He was born in Paragould, Arkansas on August 9, 1924. Wood earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology in 1954. He was married and had three children.
Test pilot
Wood served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, and flew 10 combat missions. In the Korean War, he flew more than 100 combat missions.
As a USAF Test Pilot School graduate, he was serving as an experimental test pilot at the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB, California when selected for the X-20 Dyna-Soar program. However, before his selection, he had an unsuccessful application for NASA astronaut group 1. Wood was the senior test pilot on the Dyna-Soar project and was slated to be the pilot on its first sub-orbital mission. If the program had not been cancelled, the first drop test would have been in July 1964. After the Dyna-Soar program was cancelled on December 10, 1963, he remained with the U.S. Air Force and served as Commander of Test Operations at Edwards Air Force Base. He retired from the U.S. Air Force with the rank of Colonel.
Death
He died in Melbourne, Florida on January 1, 1990 of natural causes, aged 65.
External links
- Astronautix biography of James W. Wood
- Spacefacts biography of James W. Wood
- James W. Wood at Find a Grave
- 1924 births
- 1990 deaths
- American astronauts
- Aviators from Arkansas
- American aerospace engineers
- American test pilots
- United States Army Air Forces officers
- United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
- American military personnel of World War II
- United States Air Force officers
- American air force personnel of the Korean War
- American Korean War pilots
- Air Force Institute of Technology alumni
- U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni
- People from Paragould, Arkansas
- Astronaut stubs