William J. Knight

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William J. Knight
Member of the California Senate from the 17th district
In office December 2, 1996 – May 7, 2004
Preceded by	Don Rogers
Succeeded by	George Runner
Member of the California State Assembly from the 36th district
In office December 7, 1992 - November 30, 1996
Preceded by	Tom McClintock
Succeeded by	George Runner
Personal details
Born	William J Knight (1929-11-18)November 18, 1929 Noblesville, Indiana, U.S.
Died	May 7, 2004(2004-05-07) (aged 74) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Children	Steve Knight, 2 other
Other names	Pete Knight
Alma mater	Butler University Purdue University Air Force Institute of Technology, B.S. 1958
Occupation	Test pilot
Awards
Space career
USAF astronaut
Rank	Colonel, USAF
Selection	1960 Dyna-Soar Group 1
Missions	X-15 Flight 190 X-15 Flight 188

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 U.S. 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 6.7 and a maximum speed of 4,520 mph (7,274 km/h), 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).