Joseph Allen IV
Joe Allen was born in 1937 in Crawfordsville, Indiana. In high school, he wrestled and ran track. He continued wrestling at DePauw University, where he was a standout on its first wrestling team. And it was at DePauw where Joe’s love for mathematics was joined by a love for physics.
After graduating from DePauw, Joe went on to get his master’s and doctorate degrees in physics from Yale University. He was teaching at Yale when he applied to become a NASA astronaut. When asked why he did that, Joe—who wasn’t a pilot and wasn’t particularly interested in flying—said, “It was a case of curiosity killing the cat. I was interested in the exams and tests they gave the astronauts.”
From thousands of applicants, Joe was one of eleven selected in 1967 to train as one of NASA’s first scientist/astronauts. And rigorous training it was. In the middle of it, Joe wrote to his family: “Anyone who subjects themselves to that type of physical torment should be disqualified on mental grounds!”
On the fun side, NASA wanted all its astronauts to fly. However, Joe was a civilian and NASA’s flight instructor of choice—the US Air Force—couldn’t train civilians. No problem. NASA got Congress to pass a law authorizing the Air Force to teach Joe Allen how to fly.
Joe graduated as his training class’s ‘Top Stick,’ finishing #1 in academics, aerobatics, formation flying, and instruments. Eventually, he logged more than 3,000 hours flying jet aircraft.
In 1982, Joe was selected to fly on STS-5, the first fully operational space shuttle mission. Joe elected to be a mission specialist rather a pilot because mission specialists got to walk in space. STS-5 deployed the first satellites from a space craft. The crew called themselves the “Ace Moving Company!”
Joe went back into space for the last time in 1984, on STS-51A. That mission deployed two satellites, and then, for the first time in history, conducted a space salvage operation, retrieving two communications satellites and bringing them back to earth for refurbishment and redeployment. With a wink and a nod to STS-5, this crew called themselves the “Ace Repo Company!” Some of the techniques developed and employed by STS-51A were later used while repairing the Hubble Space Telescope.
It was during this mission that Joe became the second—and last— astronaut to walk untethered in space using the manned maneuvering unit. NASA later decided the risk of losing an astronaut due to a MMU thruster sticking in the ON position was too great for further space walks without a tether. When he retired from NASA in 1985, Joe had logged a total of 314 hours in space.
Then, in January 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded. In a split second, Joe lost seven friends, several he had helped select to become astronauts. Soon after, cash donations began flowing into NASA to support the families of the astronauts who lost their lives. Because NASA was a governmental organization, it couldn’t accept money from the public. NASA was about to return those donations when it was decided to create a foundation to receive and manage them. No longer employed by NASA, Joe Allen became the chairman of that foundation. In that role, Joe travelled internationally to raise funds for the foundation. Those families received that help, and then created as a lasting memorial to their loved ones, Challenger Centers with a mission to “inspire the next generation of explorers and innovators through hands-on STEM education experiences.” Today, there are 33 Challenger Centers worldwide. Joe Allen served on and chaired the Challenger Centers’ board of directors.
In 2005, Joe Allen was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.