page_title: List of U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni
section_title: Military commanders
hierarchical_section_title: List of U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni / Famous alumni / Military commanders
caption_attribution_description: General Robert T. Herres, USAF.
context_page_description: The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School graduated the following notable alumni who made significant contributions to the aerospace field. 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 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.
  Between 1962 and 1972, the Test Pilot School expanded its role to include astronaut training for military test pilots. Thirty-seven TPS graduates of this era were selected for the U.S. space program, and twenty-six went on to earn astronaut's wings by flying in the X-15, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle programs.
caption: Gen. Robert T. Herres, USAF, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
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