Jack R. Lousma
Jack Robert Lousma (* February 29, 1936 in Grand Rapids, Michigan ) is a former American astronaut.
Training
Lousma 1959 received a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Michigan in 1965 and a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. He also received in 1973 an honorary doctorate in astronautics from the University of Michigan, in 1982 an honorary doctorate from Hope College in 1986 and a further honorary doctorate in business administration from Cleary College.
In 1959 Lousma to the U.S. Marine Corps, where he was used as a reconnaissance pilot.
Astronauts activity
In April 1966, Lousma was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA. He was a member of the support crews for the Apollo -9, 10 - and 13 missions. He also served as a backup docking module pilot for the Apollo - Soyuz Test Project.
Skylab 3
On July 28, 1973 Lousma began as a pilot of an Apollo capsule along with Commander Alan Bean and Science Pilot Owen Garriott to the 59- day mission, Skylab 3 (SL -3) on the U.S. space station Skylab. The team installed six spare gyroscopes for attitude control and a sunscreen. In addition to numerous experiments and the observation of the sun was at the hitherto longest manned space flight program. On September 25, the Apollo capsule splashed down in the Pacific, where he was rescued by the USS New Orleans.
STS-3
On 22 March 1982 Lousma started as commander of the space shuttle Columbia along with pilot Gordon Fullerton into space. The eight -day mission was the third test flight of the new Space Shuttle, in which the verification of the thermal resistance of the orbiter was in the foreground. After tests with the robot arm of the shuttle and other successful experiments carried out the Columbia landed at White Sands (New Mexico). This was the first and only landing a Space Shuttle at White Sands.
Candidacy for the Senate
Lousma retired in 1983 from NASA. In 1984, he ran as a Republican Lousma in Michigan for the U.S. Senate. However, he received only 47 % of the votes, thus losing narrowly to Democrat Carl Levin.
Private
Jack Lousma and his wife Gratia Kay have four children.