Thomas David Jones

  • STS -59 (1994)
  • STS -68 (1994)
  • STS -80 ( 1996)
  • STS -98 ( 2001)

Thomas David Jones ( born January 22, 1955 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA ) is a former American astronaut.

Life

Jones 1977, he received a bachelor's degree in Basic Sciences of the United States Air Force Academy in 1988 and a PhD in Planetary Science from the University of Arizona. Jones spent six years in the U.S. Air Force. After his pilot training, he flew among other things, the B -52 strategic bomber before he retired in 1983 from the Air Force. In January 1990, Jones was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate.

Career

STS -59

His first had Jones on April 9, 1994 as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The so-called Space - mission Radar Laboratory (SRL) was performed. SRL was composed of three major radar equipment and a carbon monoxide sensor which have been used for studies of the surface and the atmosphere. Real-time observations of surface features and weather conditions along with over 14,000 photographs helped the researchers in the evaluation of the data.

STS -68

For the STS- 68 he flew aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on September 30, 1994 in the space. It was the second flight of the Space Radar Laboratory. The two main instruments on board were the SIR-C/X-SAR ( Shuttle Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar) and MAPS (Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites ). On October 11, the space shuttle landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

STS -80

On 19 November 1996 Jones embarked on his third flight. Only eight hours after the start of STS- 80, sponsored by Germany Astronomy platform ORFEUS -SPAS was suspended. For two weeks, they observed stellar objects. Students in the Federal Republic were able to be the internet. At the beginning of the fourth flight day, the plate-shaped WSF was suspended. For three days, the WSF flew alongside the Columbia. They produced in their " slipstream " a particularly pure vacuum by she admitted all the molecules of the residual atmosphere of the way. On the rear side of the WSF new semiconductor for the electronics generated. Two spacewalks (EVA ) Jones had to be canceled because the air lock would not open. The longest shuttle flight went almost 18 days to an end.

STS -98

His last mission led Jones on February 7, 2001 with the Space Shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station (ISS). Here, the U.S. space laboratory Destiny was brought to the ISS. Together with astronaut Robert Curbeam took Jones three EVAs to mount the laboratory to the space station and to make it operational. In addition, a docking port was added and brought supplies for the first long-term occupation.

Private

Thomas Jones is married and has two children.

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