Bruce Peterson was a test pilot

Test pilot

A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....

 for NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

.

A native of Washburn, North Dakota

Washburn, North Dakota

Washburn is a city in McLean County, North Dakota in the United States. It is the county seat of McLean County. The population was 1,246 at the 2010 census...

, he attended the University of California at Los Angeles, and California Polytechnic State University

California Polytechnic State University

California Polytechnic State University, or Cal Poly, is a public university located in San Luis Obispo, California, United States. The university is one of two polytechnic campuses in the 23-member California State University system....

. Peterson received his Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Cal Poly in 1960.

Peterson joined NASA in August 1960 as an engineer at the Dryden Flight Research Center

Dryden Flight Research Center

The Dryden Flight Research Center , located inside Edwards Air Force Base, is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. On March 26, 1976 it was named in honor of the late Hugh L. Dryden, a prominent aeronautical engineer who at the time of his death in 1965 was NASA's deputy administrator...

. After transferring to flight operations in 1962, he was assigned as one of the project pilots on the Rogallo paraglider research vehicle (Paresev

Paresev

The Paresev was an experimental NASA glider aircraft based upon the kite-parachute studies by NASA engineer Francis Rogallo....

) program. He made his first Paresev research flight on March 14, 1962. He was injured when the craft crashed from a height of about 10 feet (3 m) during a ground tow flight. Always the consummate engineer, his first question after impact was, "What happened to the lateral stick forces?"

As a NASA research pilot he flew a wide variety of airplanes including the F5D-1, F-100, F-104, F-111A, B-52, NT-33A Variable Stability Trainer, the wingless lifting bodies and numerous general aviation aircraft as well as several types of helicopters and sailplanes.

On May 10, 1967, during the sixteenth glide flight of a lifting body Northrop M2-F2

Northrop M2-F2

|-See also:-External links:***** of Peterson's crash...

, a landing accident severely damaged the vehicle and seriously injured Peterson. After an extensive hospitalization, he recovered from his injuries but lost sight in one eye due to a secondary infection while in the hospital.
He also made 17 NASA M2-F1

NASA M2-F1

The NASA M2-F1 was a lightweight, unpowered prototype aircraft, developed to flight test the wingless lifting body concept. It looked like a "flying bathtub," and was designated the M2-F1, the "M" referring to "manned" and "F" referring to "flight" version. In 1962, NASA Dryden management approved...

, 2 other M2-F2 and 1 Northrop HL-10

Northrop HL-10

The Northrop HL-10 was one of five heavyweight lifting body designs flown at NASA's Flight Research Center , Edwards, California, from July 1966 to November 1975 to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering and landing a low lift-over-drag vehicle designed for reentry from space...

 lifting body

Lifting body

A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage with little or no conventional wing...

 flights.

Portions of M2-F2 footage including Peterson's spectacular crash landing were used for the 1973 TV movie and subsequent series, The Six Million Dollar Man

The Six Million Dollar Man

The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...

during the opening credits of every episode. Peterson complained he disliked having his accident repeatedly replayed on television so often.

Despite his injuries, Peterson continued to fly NASA support missions, occasional research flights and continued his Marine Reserve flying duties until 1971. During his flying career, Peterson logged more than 6,000 flight hours in nearly 70 types of aircraft.

Peterson continued at Dryden as research project engineer on the F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire

Fly-by-wire

Fly-by-wire is a system that replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are converted to electronic signals transmitted by wires , and flight control computers determine how to move the actuators at each control...

 program of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later assumed responsibility for safety and quality assurance for Dryden until his retirement in 1981.

He then joined the Northrop Corporation

Northrop Corporation

Northrop Corporation was a leading United States aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1939 until its merger with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman in 1994. The company is known for its development of the flying wing design, although only a few of these have entered service.-History:Jack...

, where he assumed responsibility for safety and quality assurance for testing of the B-2 Advanced Technology Bomber

B-2 Spirit

The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is an American heavy bomber with low observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. The bomber has a crew of two and can drop up to eighty -class JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen ...

. From 1982 until 1994 Peterson worked in Northrop's B-2 division at Air Force Plant 42

Plant 42

Air Force Plant 42 is a federally owned military aerospace facility under the control of the Air Force Material Command in Palmdale, California...

 in Palmdale

Palmdale, California

Palmdale is a city located in the center of northern Los Angeles County, California, United States.Palmdale was the first community within the Antelope Valley to incorporate as a city on August 24, 1962; 47 years later, voters approved creating a charter city in November, 2009. Palmdale is...

, California, and at Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...

, becoming manager of system safety and human factors.

Peterson was a fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots

Society of Experimental Test Pilots

The Society of Experimental Test Pilots is an international organization that seeks to promote air safety and contributes to aeronautical advancement by promoting sound aeronautical design and development; interchanging ideas, thoughts and suggestions of the members, assisting in the professional...

 and 2002 recipient of the Tony LeVier Flight Test Safety Award

Tony LeVier Flight Test Safety Award

The Tony LeVier Flight Test Safety Award, named in honor of test pilot Tony LeVier, was established by the Flight Test Safety Committee to pay recognition to people who have significantly contributed to the safety of flight test operations...

. He was honored by NASA with an exceptional leadership award for his work on preparations for the first space shuttle landing at NASA Dryden in April 1981. In 2003 he was inducted into the Lancaster, California

Lancaster, California

Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the high desert, near the Kern County line. Lancaster currently ranks as the 30th largest city in California, and the 148th largest city in the United States. Lancaster is the principal city within the Antelope Valley...

 Aerospace Walk of Honor

Aerospace Walk of Honor

The Aerospace Walk of Honor in Lancaster, California, USA, honors test pilots who have contributed to aviation and space research and development....

.

Peterson resided in Orange County and Ocean Springs, California until his death on May 1, 2006 at age 72, after a long illness.