Joe Walker joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (now NASA) in March 1945. He began his career as a test pilot while serving as an experimental physicist at their Aircraft Engine Research Lab.  Transferring to Edmond’s Flight Research, Joe worked on a number of pioneering research projects after becoming the Chief Research Pilot in the mid-1950s.  He was the first NASA pilot to fly the newly introduced X-15 and to pilot the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle.  Joe was tragically killed in flight on June 8, 1966 when his F-104 Starfighter became caught in a vortex and collided with a North American XB-70 Valkyrie. 

Joe Walker was highly recognized as a talented research pilot and was the recipient of numerous awards, including the 1961 Robert J. Collier Trophy, the 1961 Harmon International Trophy for Aviators, and Pilot of the Year in 1963.  Joe was awarded his Astronaut Wings posthumously in 2005.