Selected in 1967, England was among a group of astronauts who served as backups during the Apollo and Skylab programs.

England helped develop and use radars to probe the Moon on Apollo 17 and glaciers in Washington and Alaska.

England was formerly dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan's Dearborn campus.

After 126 orbits of the Earth, STS 51-F Challenger landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on August 6, 1985.

[11] England also served as a member of the Michigan Pipeline Safety Advisory Board[12] and the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority.

[13] England was married for 51 years to his childhood sweetheart, Kathi (Kreutz) until her death in 2013 and has two daughters: Heidi and Heather.

He has five grandchildren: Brandi, Spenser, Charlene, Brock, Sage..[14] His recreational interests include sailing and amateur radio.

[3] England's career is chronicled in the book NASA's Scientist-Astronauts by David Shayler and Colin Burgess.