Encyclopedia Astronautica
Davis


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Davis
Credit: www.spacefacts.de - www.spacefacts.de
Davis, Dr Nancy Jan (1953-) American engineer mission specialist astronaut. Flew on STS-47, STS-60, STS-85. Engineer, was married to astronaut Mark Lee, part of first married couple to fly in space together.

Grew up in Huntsville Alabama. Educated Georgia Tech; Auburn; Alabama-Huntsville.

NASA Official Biography

NAME: N. Jan Davis (Ph.D.)
NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA:
Born November 1, 1953, at Cocoa Beach, Florida, but considers Huntsville Alabama, to be her hometown. Married to astronaut Mark Lee from Viroqua, Wisconsin. She enjoys flying, ice skating, snow skiing, water sports, and needlework. She is a volunteer Girl Scout troop assistant leader, and is a member of the Lakeview Quilters Guild..

EDUCATION:
Graduated from Huntsville High School in 1971; received bachelor of science degrees in applied biology from Georgia Institute of Technology and in mechanical engineering from Auburn University in 1975 and 1977, respectively; received a master of science degree and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from University of Alabama in Huntsville, in 1983 and 1985, respectively.

ORGANIZATIONS:
Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Member, Tau Beta Pi, Omicron Delta Kappa, Pi Tau Sigma, and Sigma Gamma Tau honoraries, and Alpha Xi Delta social sorority. Board Member, Ice Skating Institute of America Education Foundation, Greater Houston Skating Council, and Georgia Tech Advisory Board.

SPECIAL HONORS:
Recipient of NASA Exceptional Service Medal (1995), NASA Space Flight Medal (1992, 1994), Marshall Space Flight Center Director's Commendation (1987), NASA Fellowship for Full-Time Study (1983), ASME National Old Guard Prize (1978), and Alpha Xi Delta Woman of Distinction (1993).

EXPERIENCE:
After graduating from Auburn University in 1977, Dr. Davis joined Texaco in Bellaire, Texas, working as a petroleum engineer in tertiary oil recovery. She left there in 1979 to work for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center as an aerospace engineer. In 1986, she was named as team leader in the Structural Analysis Division, and her team was responsible for the structural analysis and verification of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the HST maintenance mission, and the Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility. In 1987, she was also assigned to be the lead engineer for the redesign of the solid rocket booster external tank attach ring. Dr. Davis did her graduate research at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, studying the long-term strength of pressure vessels due to the viscoelastic characteristics of filament-wound composites. She holds one patent, has authored several technical papers, and is a Registered Professional Engineer.

JSC EXPERIENCE:
Dr. Davis became an astronaut in June 1987 and is qualified for assignment as a mission specialist on Space Shuttle flight crews. Her initial technical assignment was in the Astronaut Office Mission Development Branch, where she provided technical support for Shuttle payloads. She then served as a CAPCOM in Mission Control communicating with Shuttle crews for seven missions. After her first space flight, Dr. Davis served as the Astronaut Office representative for the Remote Manipulator System (RMS), with responsibility for RMS operations, training, and payloads. After her second space flight, she served as the Chairperson of the NASA Education Working Group and as Chief for the Payloads Branch, which provided Astronaut Office support for all Shuttle and Space Station payloads. A veteran of two space flights, STS-47 in 1992 and STS-60 in 1994, Dr. Davis has logged over 389 hours in space.

Dr. Davis was a mission specialist on STS-47, Spacelab-J, the 50th Space Shuttle mission. Launched on September 12, 1992, this cooperative venture between the United States and Japan, conducted 43 experiments in life sciences and materials processing. During the eight-day mission, she was responsible for operating Spacelab and its subsystems and performing a variety of experiments. After completing 126 orbits of the Earth, STS-47 Endeavour landed at Kennedy Space Center on September 20, 1992.

Dr. Davis was also a mission specialist on STS-60, which was the second flight of Spacehab (Space Habitation Module) and the first flight of the Wake Shield Facility (WSF). Launched on February 3, 1994, this flight was the first Space Shuttle flight on which a Russian Cosmonaut was a crew member. During the eight-day mission, her prime responsibility was to maneuver the WSF on the RMS, to conduct thin film crystal growth. She also was responsible for performing scientific experiments in the Spacehab, and was trained to perform extravehicular activity (EVA), if required. The STS-60 Discovery landed at Kennedy Space Center on February 11, 1994, after completing 130 orbits of the Earth.

CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:
Dr. Davis is assigned as the payload commander for STS-85, scheduled for July 1997. On this eleven-day mission she will deploy and retrieve the CRISTA-SPAS payload, and will operate the Japanese Manipulator Flight Demonstration (MFD) robotic arm. This flight on Discovery will also include several other scientific payloads that will conduct research on astronomy, Earth sciences, life sciences, and materials science.

FEBRUARY 1997

Birth Place: Cocoa Beach, Florida.
Status: Inactive.


Born: 1953.11.01.
Spaceflights: 3 .
Total time in space: 28.09 days.

More... - Chronology...
Associated Countries
See also
  • NASA Group 12 - 1987 Requirement: pilot, engineer, and scientist astronauts for space shuttle flights. Nickname: The Gaffers (acronym for 'George Abbey Final Fifteen' - the last group selected with George Abbey as Director of Flight Crew Operations). The class motto: 'What's the rush?' since there was expected to be along wait for flights after the Challenger disaste More...
Associated Flights
  • STS-47 Crew: Apt, Brown, Davis, Gibson, Jemison, Lee, Mohri. First on-time Shuttle launch since November 1985. First Japanese astronaut aboard shuttle. First African-American woman to fly in space. First married couple to fly on the same space mission Carried Spacelab-J with microgravity and biology experiments. More...
  • STS-60 Crew: Bolden, Chang-Diaz, Davis, Krikalyov, Reightler, Sega. First flight of a Russian cosmonaut aboard an American spacecraft. Deployed ODERACS A-F, Bremsat, carried Wake Shield Facility. Backup crew: Titov Vladimir. More...
  • STS-85 Crew: Brown, Curbeam, Davis, Robinson, Rominger, Tryggvason. Deployed and retrieved the CRISTA-SPAS-2 (the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite-2) designed to study Earth's middle atmosphere. More...
Associated Programs
  • STS The Space Transportation System (Space Shuttle) was conceived originally as a completely reusable system that would provide cheap, routine access to space and replace all American and civilian military launch vehicles. Crippled by technological overreach, political compromise, and budget limitations, it instead ended up costing more than the expendable rockets it was to have replaced. STS sucked the money out of all other NASA projects for half a century. The military abandoned its use after the Challenger shuttle explosion in the 1980's. More...
Bibliography
  • NASA Astronaut Biographies, Johnson Space Center, NASA, 1995-present. Web Address when accessed: here.

Davis Chronology
1987 June 5 - .
  • NASA Astronaut Training Group 12 selected. - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Akers; Allen, Andy; Bowersox; Brown; Chilton; Davis; Foale; Harbaugh; Jemison; McMonagle; Melnick; Readdy; Reightler; Runco; Voss. The group was selected to provide pilot, engineer, and scientist astronauts for space shuttle flights.. Qualifications: Pilots: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Advanced degree desirable. At least 1,000 flight-hours of pilot-in-command time. Flight test experience desirable. Excellent health. Vision minimum 20/50 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 vision; maximum sitting blood pressure 140/90. Height between 163 and 193 cm.

    Mission Specialists: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics and minimum three years of related experience or an advanced degree. Vision minimum 20/150 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20. Maximum sitting blood pressure of 140/90. Height between 150 and 193 cm.. First selection after the Challenger accident. 1962 applicants, 117 finalists. Reported to Johnson Space Center on August 17, 1987, to begin their one year training. Seven pilots and eight mission specialists. Two female mission specialists, including the first black woman astronaut. Ten military officers and five civilians (including three from NASA Johnson and one from NASA Marshall).

1992 September 12 - . 14:23 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39B. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle. LV Configuration: Space Shuttle STS-47.
  • STS-47 - . Call Sign: Endeavour. Crew: Apt; Brown; Davis; Gibson; Jemison; Lee; Mohri. Payload: Endeavour F02 / Spacelab-J. Mass: 12,772 kg (28,157 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Apt; Brown; Davis; Gibson; Jemison; Lee; Mohri. Agency: NASA Houston. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-47. Spacecraft: Endeavour. Duration: 7.94 days. Decay Date: 1992-09-20 . USAF Sat Cat: 22120 . COSPAR: 1992-061A. Apogee: 310 km (190 mi). Perigee: 297 km (184 mi). Inclination: 57.0000 deg. Period: 90.60 min. Manned seven crew. Carried Spacelab-J with microgravity and biology experiments. Payloads: Spacelab-J, nine getaway special canister experiments, Israel Space Agency Investigation About Hornets (ISAIAH), Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) II, Solid Surface Combus-tion Experiment (SSCE).
1992 September 20 - .
1994 February 3 - . 12:10 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle. LV Configuration: Space Shuttle STS-60.
  • STS-60 - . Call Sign: Discovery. Crew: Bolden; Chang-Diaz; Davis; Krikalyov; Reightler; Sega. Backup Crew: Titov, Vladimir. Payload: Discovery F18 / GBA-6. Mass: 13,006 kg (28,673 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Bolden; Chang-Diaz; Davis; Krikalyov; Reightler; Sega; Titov, Vladimir. Agency: NASA Houston. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-60. Spacecraft: Discovery. Duration: 8.30 days. Decay Date: 1994-02-28 . USAF Sat Cat: 22977 . COSPAR: 1994-006A. Apogee: 351 km (218 mi). Perigee: 348 km (216 mi). Inclination: 56.4000 deg. Period: 91.50 min. Deployed ODERACS A-F, Bremsat, carried Wake Shield Facility. Payloads: Wake Shield Facility (WSF) 1 and SPACEHAB 02. Getaway special bridge assembly experiments: Capillary Pumped Loop (CAPL), Orbital Debris Radar Calibration Spheres (ODERACS), University of Bremen Satellite (BREMSAT), G-514, G-071, and G-536. Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) II; Auroral Photography Experiment (APE-B).
1994 February 11 - .
1997 August 7 - . 14:41 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle. LV Configuration: Space Shuttle STS-85.
  • STS-85 - . Call Sign: Discovery. Crew: Brown; Rominger; Davis; Curbeam; Robinson; Tryggvason. Payload: Discovery F23 / CRISTA-SPAS-2. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown; Rominger; Davis; Curbeam; Robinson; Tryggvason. Agency: NASA Houston. Manufacturer: North American. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-85. Spacecraft: Discovery. Duration: 11.85 days. Decay Date: 1997-08-18 . USAF Sat Cat: 24889 . COSPAR: 1997-039A. Apogee: 261 km (162 mi). Perigee: 249 km (154 mi). Inclination: 57.0000 deg. Period: 89.60 min. Deployed and retrieved the CRISTA-SPAS-2 (the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite-2) designed to study Earth's middle atmosphere. The CRISTA-SPAS-2 was making its second flight on the Space Shuttle and represented the fourth mission in a cooperative venture between the German Space Agency (DARA) and NASA.

    CRISTA-SPAS was deployed by the RMS arm at 22:27 GMT on August 7 and was recaptured by Discovery's RMS arm at 15:14 GMT on August 16. Because of unfavorable weather conditions at the primary shuttle landing site at the Kennedy Space Center, Discovery was waved off for its scheduled August 18 landing. STS-85 landed the next day, at Kennedy Space Center at 11:08 GMT.

1997 August 19 - .
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