NF-104A "NF-758" (56-0758) with Test Pilot School Class 64C Front row, fourth from left: Captain Stuart Allen Roosa, Command Module Pilot, Apollo 14 Back row, third from left: Captain Charles Moss Duke, Jr., Lunar Module Pilot, Apollo 16 Back row, far right: Alfred Merrill Worden, Command Module Pilot, Apollo 15 Front row, second from right: Captain Henry “Hank” Hartsfield, Jr., shuttle pilot, Columbia, STS-4; commander, Discovery, STS-41-D; Challenger, STS-61-A Front, third from left: Captain Gerald D. Larsen (later, Major General) Back row, far left: Captain Barron “Duke” Fredricks III Front row, second from left: Captain “Wendy” Hull, USAF Back row, third from right: Captain Spence M. “Sam” Armstrong, USAF, later Lieutenant General The school's mission is to produce experimental test pilots, flight test engineers, and flight test navigators to lead and conduct test and evaluation of aerospace weapon systems. The school was established on September 9, 1944 as the Flight Test Training Unit at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (AFB) in Dayton, Ohio. To take advantage of the uncongested skies and superb flying weather, the school was moved on February 4, 1951 to its present location at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. Edwards AFB is the home of the Air Force Flight Test Center and has been an integral part of flight testing for over fifty years. copyright © USAF via Peitzmeier archive