| 词条 | William J. Knight |
| 释义 |
|name =William J. Knight |other_names =William John Knight |image =Pete_Knight.jpg |image_size = |caption = |type =USAF Astronaut |nationality =American |birth_date ={{Birth date|1929|11|18}} |death_date ={{Death date and age|2004|05|07|1929|11|18}} |birth_place =Noblesville, Indiana, U.S. |death_place =Los Angeles, California, U.S. |occupation =Test pilot |alma_mater =Butler University Purdue University Air Force Institute of Technology, B.S. 1958 |rank = Colonel, USAF |selection =1960 Dyna-Soar Group 1 |time = |mission =X-15 Flight 190 |awards = }} William John "Pete" Knight (November 18, 1929 – May 7, 2004) (Col USAF) was an American aeronautical engineer, politician, Vietnam War combat pilot, test pilot, and astronaut. He was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the Air Force and NASA. He was also selected for participation in the X-20 Dyna-Soar program. On October 3, 1967, Knight piloted X-15 Flight 188, the program's fastest flight. Flying at a maximum Mach of 6.70 and a maximum speed of 4,520 mph (7,274 kph), he set a speed record for flight in a winged, powered aircraft.[1] The flight was made in the X-15A-2, the second of three planes in the X-15 fleet. Two weeks later on October 17, Knight flew X-15 Flight 190, reaching a maximum altitude above 50 miles. This qualified him as an astronaut according to the United States definition of the boundary of space. However, this altitude did not surpass the Kármán line, the internationally accepted boundary of 100 kilometers (62 miles). It was the last successful flight of the X-15-3, the fleet's third plane. On November 15, X-15 Flight 191 ended in disaster, killing pilot Michael Adams and destroying the X-15-3. As a politician, Knight is noted as the author of California Proposition 22, which forbade the state from performing or recognizing same-sex marriage. Early life and educationKnight was born November 18, 1929 in Noblesville, Indiana, to parents William T. Knight (1906–1968) and Mary Emma Knight (1909–1959).[2] Following high school, Knight attended Butler University and Purdue University. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology in 1958. PersonalKnight was married to Helena Stone and they had three sons, Steve, Peter, and David. Helena preceded Knight in death. Knight remarried and at his death in 2004 he was survived by his widow Gail, a brother, three sons, four stepchildren and 15 grandchildren. Air Force careerKnight joined the United States Air Force in 1951. While only a Second Lieutenant, he flew an F-89 at the National Air Show in 1954 and won the Allison Jet Trophy. Starting in 1958, following his graduation from both U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology and the Air Force Experimental Flight Test Pilot School, Knight served as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base, California. He was a project test pilot for the F-100, F-101 Voodoo, F-104 Starfighter and later, T-38 and F-5 test programs. In 1960, he was one of six test pilots selected to fly the X-20 Dyna-Soar, which was slated to become the first winged orbital space vehicle capable of lifting reentries and conventional landings. After the X-20 program was canceled in 1963, he completed the astronaut training curriculum through the Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards AFB and was selected to fly the North American X-15. He had more than his share of eventful flights in the X-15. While climbing through {{Convert|107000|ft}} at Mach 4.17 on June 29, 1967, he suffered a total electrical failure and all onboard systems shut down. After reaching a maximum altitude of {{Convert|173000|ft}}, he calmly set up a visual approach and, resorting to old-fashioned "seat-of-the-pants" flying, he glided down to a safe emergency landing at Mud Lake, Nevada.[3] For his remarkable feat of airmanship that day, he earned a Distinguished Flying Cross. On October 3, 1967, Knight set a world aircraft speed record for manned aircraft by piloting the X-15A-2 to {{Convert|4520|mph|km/h|0|sp=us}} (Mach 6.70)[4][5], a record that still stands today. During 16 flights in the aircraft, Knight also became one of only five pilots to earn their Astronaut Wings by flying an airplane in space, reaching an altitude of {{Convert|280500|ft}}. After nearly ten years of test flying at Edwards AFB, he went to Southeast Asia in 1968 where he completed a total of 253 combat missions in the F-100 during the Vietnam War. Following his combat tour, he served as test director during development of the F-15 Eagle at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. He also was the Program Director for the International Fighter (F-5) Program at Wright-Patterson. In 1979, he returned to Edwards AFB, and served as a test pilot for the F-16 Fighting Falcon. After 32 years of service and more than 6,000 hours in the cockpits of more than 100 different aircraft, he retired from the U.S. Air Force as a Colonel in 1982. Political careerIn 1984, he was elected to the city council of Palmdale, California, and four years later became the city's first elected mayor. In 1992, he was elected to serve in the California State Assembly representing the 36th District. He served in the State Senate representing the 17th District from 1996 until his death on May 7, 2004. Knight's youngest son, Steve Knight served as Assemblyman for the 36th Assembly District from 2008 to 2012, the seat previously held by his father. Proposition 22{{Main| California Proposition 22 (2000)}}During his term in the Senate, Knight gained statewide attention in 2000 as the author of Proposition 22, a.k.a. the "Knight Initiative," the purpose of which was to ban same-sex marriage: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." The proposition passed with 61.4% approval and 38.6% against. On March 9, 2004, Knight's son, David Knight, who is gay, married his partner during the period when San Francisco performed same-sex marriages in defiance of state law. These marriages were later nullified by the California Supreme Court in 2004.[6] The Court later found Proposition 22 to be unconstitutional in In re Marriage Cases (2008).[7] In addition to his gay son, Knight also had a younger brother who died of AIDS-related complications in 1995 at age 60. Of his younger brother, Knight would only say, "We never talked about it." [8] Watch
Awards and honors
In the city of Palmdale, Pete Knight High School was opened in his memory.{{citation needed|date=October 2014}} The school began its first year in the school year of 2003-2004 and celebrated its first graduating class in 2007. References1. ^{{cite web|title=Fastest Speed in a Non-Spacecraft Aircraft|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-11000/fastest-speed-in-a-non-spacecraft-aircraft/|website=Guinness World Records|publisher=Guinness World Records Limited|accessdate=13 November 2014}} 2. ^[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8749323 Knight's parents] 3. ^Mud Lake, Nye County, Nevada, {{Coord|37|52|10|N|117|04|17|W}}. Located at the northern edge of the Tonopah Test Range, this is the southernmost Mud Lake of several dry lakes bearing the same name in Nevada. 4. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.mach25media.com/Resources/X15FlightLog.pdf |title=The X-15 Rocket Plane: Flying the First Wings Into Space-Flight Log |last=Evans |first=Michelle |date=2013 |page=51 |website=Mach 25 Media}} 5. ^{{cite web |url=https://history.nasa.gov/monograph18.pdf |title=Hypersonics Before the Shuttle: a Concise History of the X-15 Research Airplane |last=Jenkins |first=Dennis R. |date=June 2000 |series=Monographs in Aerospace History (18) |page=121 |publisher=NASA }} Appendix 9, X-15 Program Flight Log. 6. ^{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Son-of-gay-marriage-foe-weds-in-San-Francisco-2811435.php|work=The San Francisco Chronicle|title=Son of gay marriage foe weds in San Francisco / Sen. Knight wrote state law banning same-sex unions}} 7. ^{{cite news| url=http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-08-05/news/22206069_1_ban-on-same-sex-marriage-gay-rights-proponents-gays-and-lesbians | work=The San Francisco Chronicle | first1=Joe | last1=Garofoli | first2=John | last2=Wildermuth | first3=Demian | last3=Bulwa | title=Mormons urged to back ban on same-sex marriage | date=August 5, 2010}} 8. ^{{cite web |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1996-09-11/local/me-42738_1_gay-marriage-issue |title=Foe of Gay Marriages Says His Son Is Homosexual |last=Hill-Holtzman |first=Nancy |date=11 September 1996 |website=Los Angeles Times}} 9. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalaviation.org/enshrinees/ | title=National Aviation Hall of fame: Our Enshrinees |publisher=National Aviation Hall of Fame |accessdate=February 10, 2011}} 10. ^Knight inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527215013/http://www.cityoflancasterca.org/index.aspx?page=210 |date=2014-05-27 }} 11. ^Knight inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame Bibliography
External links{{Portal|Biography|United States Air Force}}
36th District | years = December 7, 1992 – November 30, 1996 }}{{S-aft| rows = 2 | after = George Runner }}{{S-bef| before = Don Rogers }}{{S-ttl| title = California State Senator 17th District | years = December 2, 1996 – May 7, 2004 }}{{S-end}}{{North American X-15}}{{authority control}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, William J.}} 24 : 1929 births|2004 deaths|20th-century American politicians|21st-century American politicians|Air Force Institute of Technology alumni|American aerospace engineers|American astronaut-politicians|American air force personnel of the Vietnam War|American test pilots|California city council members|California Republicans|California state senators|Deaths from leukemia|Harmon Trophy winners|Members of the California State Assembly|People from Noblesville, Indiana|People from Palmdale, California|Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni|United States Air Force astronauts|United States Air Force colonels|X-15 program|Engineers from California|20th-century American engineers |
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