Robert Henry Lawrence Jr.
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Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. was a United States Air Force officer and the first African-American who was selected to be an astronaut.
Lawrence during his Air Force career
Lawrence's name inscribed on the Space Mirror Memorial
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
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The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic interceptor. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air F
Robert Henry Lawrence Jr.
…in the Gas Phase. He was a senior USAF pilot, accumulating well over 2,500 flight hours, 2,000 of which were in jets. Lawrence flew many tests in the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter to investigate the gliding flight of various unpowered spacecraft returning to Earth from orbit, such as the North American X-15 rocket-plane. NASA…
A former Royal Netherlands Air Force F-104G
A Royal Netherlands Air Force F-104G Starfighter in flight on 2 June 1963.
Lockheed F-104A
Detail of F-104G's GE J79 turbojet exhaust (red coloring added by Technik Museum Sinsheim, Germany)