Joe F. Edwards Jr.
A naval aviator who piloted the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission to dock with the Russian space station Mir.
Born 1958 (age 68)·American astronaut, aviator and engineer·Birthday: February 3·Baby Boomers
Biography
Joe F. Edwards Jr. carved a path from the cockpit of fighter jets to the command seat of the Space Shuttle. Born in 1958, his career was forged in the disciplined world of the U.S. Navy, where he became a test pilot, pushing aircraft to their limits. Selected by NASA in 1994, Edwards brought a pilot's precision to the astronaut corps. His single spaceflight in 1998 aboard Endeavour was a crucial link in the chain of international partnership, successfully rendezvousing with the aging Mir station. After leaving NASA, he continued to influence aerospace, applying his operational experience to engineering and management roles, embodying the transition from explorer to builder in America's space endeavors.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Joe was born in 1958, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Joe Was Born
The biggest hits of 1958
#1 Movie
South Pacific
Best Picture
Gigi
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Joe's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1958Born
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1963Started school
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1971Became a teenager
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Could drive
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1976Could vote
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Turned 21
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1988Turned 30
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 40
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 50
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 60
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 68 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as pilot on Space Shuttle Endeavour during the STS-89 mission, the eighth Shuttle-Mir docking.
- Logged over 4,000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft as a naval aviator and test pilot.
- Was selected as a NASA astronaut candidate as part of the 15th astronaut group in 1994.
Did You Know?
He was a standout baseball player at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he earned a degree in aerospace engineering.
Before his spaceflight, he served as a Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM) in Mission Control.
His father, Joe F. Edwards Sr., was a decorated World War II naval aviator.
“Flying the shuttle was the ultimate test of preparation meeting opportunity.”
