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William Harvey Dana is a retired astronaut. He was
born in Pasadena, California|Pasadena, California,
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 in 1958.

Dana was Chief Engineer at NASA's Dryden Flight
Research Center, 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 program.

He was a project pilot on the hypersonic X-15
research aircraft and flew the rocket-powered
vehicle 16 times, reaching a top speed of 3,897
mph and a peak altitude of 307,000 feet (nearly 59
miles high). 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 program,
which flew several versions of the wingless
vehicles and produced data that helped in
development of the Space Shuttle. He completed  1
NASA M2-F1, 9 Northrop HL-10, 19 Northrop M2-F3
and 2 Martin-Marietta X-24B flights, for a total
of 31 lifting body missions. For his contributions
to the lifting body program, Dana received the
NASA Exceptional Service Medal. In 1976 he
received the Haley Space Flight Award from the
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
for his research work on the M2-F3 lifting body
control systems.

A member of the Society of Experimental Test
Pilots, Dana is the author of several technical
papers.


NASA