William J. "Pete" Knight was one of four Air Force pilots selected to fly the Dyna-Soar (X-20), the first Air Force space program, and one of eight X-15 pilots to earn astronaut wings by flying an airplane in space at 280,000 feet. He flew or tested 85 kinds of fighter, trainer, bomber, and transport aircraft and logged more than 6,000 flying hours, including 4,500 in jet aircraft. During a 32 year Air Force career, he flew the X-15 ten times and in 1967 set the X-15 world absolute speed record at Mach 6.76, or 4,534 miles per hour, at Edwards AFB. He served as Vice Commander of the Edwards Air Force Base Flight Test Center in Air Force Systems Command, served in Vietnam, was assigned as Test Director for the F-15 System Program office at Wright-Patterson AFB, and later became Director of the Fighter Attack System Program office. Born in Indiana in 1929, Knight attended Butler and Purdue Universities, earned a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio, received his commission through the Aviation Cadet program, and trained at the Test Pilot School and the Aerospace Research Pilot school. He was the first elected Mayor of Palmdale, California, in 1988, and his honors included the National Aviation Hall of Fame, the U.S.A.F. Test Pilot School Distinguished Alumni Award, the Octave Chanute Award, the Citation of Honor from the Air Force Association, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Legion of Merit Award, and the Aerospace Walk of Honor.