We here at GeekyKool love science fiction, but we love science fact and people who push the limits of the human condition in the pursuit of knowledge, and moving us closer to that sci-fi utopia that is show on screen. Today, we lost such an individual.
General Charles ‘Chuck” Yeager passed away Monday, December 7th, 2020. He was best known for being the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound. In October 1947, while piloting the Bell X-1, Yeager became the “fastest man alive” when the craft reached Mach 1.06 or 700 MPH. Yeager continued to set records, eventually flying a straight winged airplane at Mach 2.44 in 1953. Yeager continued to fly and even helped develop the X-20, which was to be the Military aircraft to go into outer space. Yeager did not agree with President Kennedy’s transfer of the space program from the military to the civilian members of NASA, but he continued to help train pilots who would go on to fly into space in the Mercury, Gemini and space shuttle programs. He was the technical advisor on the movie “The Right Stuff”, which told the story of the first 15 years of the American space program, including his breaking the sound barrier.
Yeager’s death was announced by his second wife Victoria. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.
RIP General, fly high
