The first one to reach outer space in the Man In Space Soonest program was which Captain in the United States Air Force, an American World War II pilot, an experimental physicist, and NASA test pilot?
Joseph A. Walker Joseph Albert "Joe" Walker (February 20, 1921 – June 8, 1966) flew the world's first two spaceplane flights in 1963, thereby becoming the United States' seventh man in space. Walker was a Captain in the United States Air Force, an American World War II pilot, an experimental physicist, a NASA test pilot, and a member of the U.S. Air Force Man In Space Soonest spaceflight program. His two X-15 experimental rocket aircraft flights in 1963 that exceeded the Kármán line – the altitude of 100 km , generally considered to mark the threshold of outer space – qualified him as an astronaut under the rules of the U.S. Air Force and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).
William Pershing Benedict Lt. Colonel William Pershing Benedict (July 20, 1918 – Aug 31, 1974) was an American pilot who was born in Ruth, Nevada and raised in California. He was a highly decorated World War II fighter pilot who served in both the RCAF and the U.S. Army Air Corps. 18 months after joining the U.S. Army Air Corps, at 26 years of age, Benedict achieved the rank of Major and was made Squadron Commander. He is best known for being the first man to land an aircraft on the North Pole.