Mike Fossum, stogie in mouth and pirate flag in hand, poses in front of the X-38 following the vehicle's first flight.

Mike Fossum, a Johnson Space Center (JSC) X-38 flight test engineer and familiar face around Dryden, was selected June 3 to report to Houston for astronaut training on Aug. 24.

"It's a dream come true for this grandson of a sharecropper," Fossum said. "I never could take my eyes off the stars." Fossum applied seven times and went through five interviews before finally getting the phone call.

"I was just walking past the conference room we use at Yuma (Arizona site for X-38 parafoil testing). I left JSC that particular phone number because it is the only one out there. I heard the phone, fumbled for the keys to the locked room and grabbed it at the last second," he said. Ken Cockrell, NASA's chief of the Astronaut Office, had good news for him.

"Mike's been a real asset to the X-38 project," said Dryden's X-38 project manager Bob Baron. "Having previously been in the U.S. Air Force and assigned to Edwards, his knowledge of Air Force Flight Test Center operations has really assisted the team with the coordination required to support X-38 flight tests." Mike says his only regret is leaving the X-38 program and his close friends at Dryden.

"I've always admired Dryden and have enjoyed the opportunity to work with such a talented, super-dedicated team," Fossum said. As a Mission Specialist, he will probably wind up working aboard the International Space Station, with its attendant Crew Return Vehicle lifeboats. As a potential beneficiary of his own and many other's work on the X-38, Fossum laughs, "I told the guys (X-38 team) it's for real now!"

Aerospace engineer Dale Reed is set to talk about the M2-F-3 wingless aircraft, middle. It also is called a lifting body. The X-24A, left, and the HL-10, right, are other members of the lifting body familiy.

Aerospace engineer Dale Reed is set to speak about the M2-F3 wingless aircraft called a lifting body at the Wednesday, July 1, NASA Nights. The experimental aircraft flew here and was one of the forerunners of the Space Shuttles. Reed is the winner of four NASA awards for his service, including the Exceptional Service Medal and Associate Fellow Award.

The NASA Night lecture is at 6:30 p.m. It is scheduled for the Lancaster Branch of the Los Angeles County Library at 601 West Lancaster Blvd.

Engel recognized for alliance contributions

Dryden Center Director Ken Szalai presents Maj. Gen.Richard L. Engel a plaque to recognize his achievements in furthering an alliance between the U.S. Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards and NASA Dryden. Engel leaves the base this summer for a new assignment.

Base commander accepts new duties at the National Defense University

By Jay Levine
X-Press Editor

Edwards Air Force Base Commander Maj. Gen. Richard L. Engel, who has served here for five years, attended his last Air Force Flight Test Center and Dryden Flight Research Center Alliance meeting this month.

Engel will become the new commandant of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces Aug. 1. The college, which also is referred to as the National Defense University, is at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C. It prepares senior officers and civilians for senior leadership and staff positions.

For Engel's contributions to the alliance, Dryden Center Director Ken Szalai presented the base commander and co-chairman with a plaque June 8 to thank him for his leadership since the alliance's inception in 1995.

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Responsible NASA Official: John Childress For questions, contact: Dryden Web Group Page Curator: Marty Curry Modified: July 7, 1998