Retired Maj. Gen. Hugh Boyd Manson, former Air Force Flight Test Center commander, died on Oct. 4 in Los Gatos, Calif. Manson, 98, died in his sleep after a brief illness, according to the San Jose Mercury News’ Oct. 16 obituary. He will be interred on Saturday at St. Andrews Cemetery in Darien, Ga., states the obituary. Born in Darien in 1915, Manson received his pilot’s wings in 1939. For part of World War II, he commanded a bomb squadron in the Pacific theater. Among his assignments after the war, he led a fighter-interceptor wing in Britain, directed operations for US Air Forces in Europe, and headed the task force that oversaw the activation of Atlas ICBMs at Dyess AFB, Tex. As his last assignment, Manson commanded the flight test center and Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards AFB, Calif., a job he began in January 1966. Among the aircraft tested there during his tenure were: the C-5A, F-4E, F-111A, U-2R, X-15, and XB-70A, according to Edwards’ Oct. 16 release. Manson retired from the Air Force in February 1969. He went on to become vice president of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The Space Development Agency wants to wrap up its Tranche 1 launch campaign by the end of spring 2027, flying six more batches of satellites to build out its tracking and data transport constellations, according to Director Gurpartap Sandhoo.
