Jim Wetherbee
Jim Wetherbee | |
---|---|
NASA astronaut | |
Rank | Captain, USN |
Time in space | 66d 10h 23m |
Selection | NASA Group 10 (1984) |
Missions | STS-32 STS-52 STS-63 STS-86 STS-102 STS-113 |
Mission insignia | |
Retirement | January 3, 2005 |
James Donald "Wxb" Wetherbee (born November 27, 1952)
Early life and education
Wetherbee was born on November 27, 1952, in
Following his graduation from
After attending the
He has logged over 7,000 hours[3]: 141 flying time in 20 different types of aircraft, including 345 carrier landings.[1][3]: 54
NASA career
Wetherbee was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1984, and became an astronaut in June 1985. He piloted mission STS-32 in 1990 and commanded missions STS-52 (1992), STS-63 (1995),[4] STS-86 (1997),[4] STS-102 (2001), and STS-113 (2002). The final three missions were dockings with Mir and the International Space Station; STS-113 was the last Space Shuttle mission before the Columbia disaster.[5]
Wetherbee served as Deputy Director of the Johnson Space Center (August 1995 to April 2000), Director of the Flight Crew Operations Directorate (April 2000 – 2002), and Technical Assistant to the Director of JSC's Safety & Mission Assurance Directorate (April 2003 to June 2004).[1]
Spaceflight experience
STS-113: Endeavour (November 23 to December 7, 2002) was the sixteenth Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station. The launch occurred on November 23, 2002, to deliver the P1 Truss segment, which provides structural support for the Space Station radiators. Endeavour also delivered a new Expedition 6 crew to the Station, returning to Earth on December 7, 2002, with the Expedition 5 crew ending their 6-month stay in space. The total mission duration was 13 days, 18 hours and 47 minutes.[9]: 172–174
Post-NASA career
Wetherbee retired from the U.S. Navy in 2003 and left NASA in 2005 to become a consultant. He joined BP in 2006, as a safety auditor, and retired in 2014. He is currently working as a drummer and as a consultant for leaders in hazardous environments.[10]
Personal life
Wetherbee is married to former Robin DeVore Platt of Jacksonville, Florida[1] and has two daughters.[11] He currently resides in Oregon.[10]
Organizations
Lifetime Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots;[12] Honorary Member, Musicians' Union, Local 47, American Federation of Musicians, Los Angeles, California.
Awards and honors
- Distinguished Flying Cross
- Navy Achievement Medal
- two Meritorious Unit Commendations
- six NASA Space Flight Medals
- two NASA Outstanding Leadership Medals
- four NASA Distinguished Service Medals[1]
- Lifetime Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots
- Honorary Member of the Musicians' Union, Local 47, American Federation of Musicians, Los Angeles, CA.[1]
- Inducted into the Long Island Air and Space Hall of Fame in the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Garden City, NY.[13]
- Inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.[14]
Records
- Only American to have commanded five missions in space.[1]
- Has landed the Space Shuttle more times than anyone (five).[1]
- Was the tallest person to fly in space at 6'4" (1.93 m),[15] until Michael Strahan flew to space onboard Blue Origin NS-19.[16]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "James D. Wetherbee" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. January 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^ Kerr, Kathleen. "They Began Here". Newsday.com. Melville, New York: Newsday. Archived from the original on June 9, 2008. Retrieved September 17, 2008.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-63047-950-3.
- ^ a b Wright, Rebecca (August 6, 1998). "Transcript - James D. Wetherbee". JSC History Portal. NASA. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^ Gebhardt, Chris (October 12, 2012). "Remembering Endeavour: A final journey to the California Science Center". NASASpaceFlight.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^ Office of Safety and Mission Quality, Safety Division (July 20, 1990). "Mission Safety Evaluation Report for STS-32, Postflight Edition" (PDF). NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server. Washington, DC: NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^ Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (December 1992). "STS-52 Space Shuttle mission report" (PDF). NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server. Houston, Texas: NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^ Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (June 1995). "STS-63 Space Shuttle mission report" (PDF). NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server. Houston, Texas: NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^ a b c Legler, Robert D.; Bennett, Floyd V. (September 2011). "Space Shuttle Missions Summary" (PDF). NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server. Houston, Texas: NASA. pp. 123–124. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^ a b Spry, Jeff (July 17, 2019). "NASA astronaut Jim Wetherbee looks back at Apollo 11 and his own space shuttle missions". Syfy Wire. Syfy. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^ Jasper, David (November 4, 2018). "An astronaut — and drummer — lands in Bend". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon: EO Media Group. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- (PDF) from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^ "Cradle of Aviation Museum". Cradle of Aviation Museum.
- ^ "James Wetherbee". Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. May 2, 2009. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^ "Did you know that..." Space for Kids. ESA. May 16, 2013. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^ Robert Z. Pearlman (December 11, 2021). "Blue Origin launches Michael Strahan and crew of 5 on record-setting suborbital spaceflight". Space.com. Retrieved April 3, 2022.