Jones
Jones
Credit - www.spacefacts.de
Dr Thomas David (Tom) Jones American Mission Specialist Astronaut. Born 22 January 1955.

Personal: Male, Married, Two children. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. PhD US Air Force US Air Force

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: NASA Group 13 - 1990. Inactive Entered space service: 17 January 1990. Left space service: 7 September 2001. Number of Flights: 4.00. Total Time: 53.03 days. Number of EVAs: 3.00. Total EVA Time: 0.83 days.

NASA Official Biography

NAME: Thomas D. Jones (Ph.D.)
NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA:
Born January 22, 1955, in Baltimore, Maryland. Enjoys baseball, hiking, biking, camping, skiing, and recreational flying. An avid reader, his favorite subjects are American and military history, particularly the American Civil War.

EDUCATION:
Graduated from Kenwood Senior High School, Essex, Maryland, in 1973; received a bachelor of science degree in basic sciences from the United States Air Force (USAF) Academy in Colorado Springs in 1977, and a doctorate in planetary science from the University of Arizona in Tucson in 1988.

ORGANIZATIONS:
Member of the American Astronomical Society (Division for Planetary Sciences), and the American Geophysical Union.

SPECIAL HONORS:
NASA Exceptional Service Award, 1997. NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, 1995. NASA Space Flight Medal, 1996 and 1994. Phi Beta Kappa, University of Arizona, 1988. NASA Graduate Student Research Fellow, 1987. Air Force Commendation Medal, 1983. Distinguished Graduate, USAF Academy, 1977. Outstanding Graduate in Basic Sciences, USAF Academy, 1977. National Merit Scholar, 1973. Eagle Scout, 1969.

EXPERIENCE:
A Distinguished Graduate of the USAF Academy, Dr. Jones served on active duty as an Air Force officer for 6 years. After pilot training in Oklahoma, he flew strategic bombers at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas. As pilot and aircraft commander of a B-52D Stratofortress, he led a combat crew of six, accumulating over 2,000 hours of jet experience before resigning as a captain in 1983.

From 1983 to 1988 he worked toward a Ph.D. at the University of Arizona in Tucson. His research interests included the remote sensing of asteroids, meteorite spectroscopy, and applications of space resources. From 1989 to 1990, he was a program management engineer in Washington, D.C., at the CIA's Office of Development and Engineering. In 1990 he joined Science Applications International Corporation in Washington, D.C. as a senior scientist. Dr. Jones performed advanced program planning for NASA's Solar System Exploration Division, investigating future robotic missions to Mars, asteroids, and the outer solar system.

After a year of training following his selection by NASA in January 1990, Dr. Jones became an astronaut in July 1991. In 1994 he flew as a mission specialist on successive flights of space shuttle Endeavour. First, in April 1994, he ran science operations on the "night shift" during STS-59, the first flight of the Space Radar Laboratory (SRL-1). Then, in October 1994, he was the payload commander on the SRL-2 mission, STS-68. Dr. Jones next flew in late 1996 on Columbia. Mission STS-80 successfully deployed and retrieved 2 science satellites, ORFEUS/SPAS and the Wake Shield Facility. While helping set a Shuttle endurance record of nearly 18 days in orbit, Dr. Jones used Columbia's robot arm to release the Wake Shield satellite and later grapple it from orbit. His two planned spacewalks were cancelled due to a jammed outer hatch on the airlock. Dr. Jones has logged over 40 days (963 hours) in space.

Dr. Jones is currently representing the Astronaut Office on the NASA team planning the construction and operation of the International Space Station. He is assigned to fly next on Space Station Assembly Mission 5A, STS-98, scheduled for the spring of 1999. Dr. Jones' crew will deliver the United States laboratory module to the Space Station, and he will help install the Lab with a series of three spacewalks. The STS-98 mission will mark the beginning of science research activity aboard the Station.

JUNE 1997

Jones Spaceflight Log

  • 9 April 1994 Flight: STS-59. Flight Up: STS-59. Flight Back: STS-59. Flight Time: 11.24 days.
  • 30 September 1994 Flight: STS-68. Flight Up: STS-68. Flight Back: STS-68. Flight Time: 11.24 days.
  • 19 November 1996 Flight: STS-80. Flight Up: STS-80. Flight Back: STS-80. Flight Time: 17.66 days.
  • 7 February 2001 Flight: STS-98. Flight Up: STS-98. Flight Back: STS-98. Flight Time: 12.89 days.
Jones Chronology

17 January 1990 - NASA Astronaut Training Group 13 selected.. 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.. Reported to the Johnson Space Center in late July 1990 to begin their year long training. Chosen from 1945 qualified applicants, then 106 finalists screened between September and November 1989.

9 April 1994 - STS-59. Assignment: Prime Crew. Flight: STS-59. Carried SIR-C SAR radar. Payloads: Space Radar Laboratory (SRL) 1; Consortium for Materials Development in Space Com-plex Autonomous Payload (CONCAP) IV; three getaway special (GAS) payloads; Space Tissue Loss (STL) A, B; Visual Function Tester (VFT) 4; Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) II.
20 April 1994 - Landing of STS-59. Assignment: Return Crew. Flight: STS-59. STS-59 landed at 16:54 GMT.
30 September 1994 - STS-68. Assignment: Prime Crew. Flight: STS-68. Carried SIR-C SAR. Landed at Edwards Air Force Base on October 11. Payloads: Space Radar Laboratory (SRL) 2, five Getaway Special payloads, Chromosome and Plant Cell Division in Space (CHROMEX) 5, Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) 01, Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor (CREAM), Military Application of Ship Tracks (MAST), Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG).
11 October 1994 - Landing of STS-68. Assignment: Return Crew. Flight: STS-68. STS-68 landed at 17:03 GMT.
19 November 1996 - STS-80. Assignment: Prime Crew. Flight: STS-80. Mission STS-80 carried the Orfeus astronomy satellite, the Wake Shield Facility, and spacewalk equipment. The Orfeus satellite was deployed on November 20. It carried an ultraviolet telescope and spectrographs. Wake Shield Facility was deployed on November 22 and retrieved on November 26 . On 1996 Nov 29, crewmembers Tamara Jernigan and Thomas Jones were to conduct the first of several planned EVAs. However the shuttle's exit hatch would not open and NASA cancelled this and the other planned spacewalks of the mission. On December 4 at the astronauts retrieved the Orfeus satellite using the RMS arm. Reentry attempts on Dec 5 and Dec 6 were called off due to bad weather. Columbia finally landed at 11:49 GMT December 7 on Runway 33 at Kennedy Space Center, making STS-80 the longest shuttle mission to that date .
7 December 1996 - Landing of STS-80. Assignment: Return Crew. Flight: STS-80. STS-80 landed at 11:49 GMT.
3 January 2001 - ISS Status Report: ISS 01-01. Flight: ISS EO-1. The Expedition One crew moved into its tenth week in orbit today aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as preparations stepped into high gear for the launch of the next Shuttle assembly flight to the outpost.

Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev ...more...

11 January 2001 - ISS Status Report: ISS 01-02. Flight: ISS EO-1. Expedition One crewmembers are busily preparing the International Space Station for its next visitors - the five astronauts of the STS-98 mission of Atlantis - set to launch at 2:11 a.m. EST on January 19 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Atlantis' precious cargo is the U.S. Laboratory Destiny, which will provide the orbiting outpost with its first science facility. STS-98 marks the seventh shuttle mission to the station and twelfth overall devoted to the assembly of the ever-growing international outpost in low Earth orbit.

Shuttle and station managers selected the target launch date following Wednesday's ...more...

17 January 2001 - ISS Status Report: ISS 01-03. Flight: ISS EO-1. With Space Shuttle Atlantis' STS-98 mission delayed three weeks, the Expedition One crew aboard the International Space Station will continue to review documents and procedures in preparation for the arrival of the station's newest module - the U.S. Laboratory Destiny.

Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev ...more...

31 January 2001 - ISS Status Report: ISS 01-05. Flight: ISS EO-1. Activity aboard the International Space Station continues to focus on preparations for the arrival of Space Shuttle Atlantis late next week bringing the first scientific laboratory on the STS-98 mission.

Following the shuttle's return to the launch pad, the U.S. Laboratory Destiny was ...more...

7 February 2001 - STS-98. Assignment: Prime Crew. Flight: STS-98. ISS Assembly flight. Launch delayed from January 18 and February 6. International Space Station assembly mission; delivered the Destiny and PMA-2 modules. Destiny was an American ISS module, an 8.4 meter long and 4.2 meter wide cylindrical structure with a mass of 15 tonnes. It was to function as a science and technology module and the primary control module for the ISS. The shuttle orbiter was placed in an initial 74 x 323 km x 51.6 deg orbit. At 2357 GMT the OMS engines fired for the OMS-2 burn which raised Atlantis' orbit to 204 x 322 km x 51.6 deg. Atlantis docked with the Station at 1651 GMT on February 9 at the PMA-3 port on Unity's nadir. At 1500 GMT on Feb 10 Marsha Ivins used the RMS arm to unberth the PMA-2 docking port from Unity. Tom Jones and Bob Curbeam then conducted three spacewalks on Februay 10 to 14 to attach the Destiny and PMA-2 modules to the station. The crew also delivered over a tonne of food, fuel and equipment to the ISS. Atlantis undocked from Alpha at 1406 GMT on February 16. Atlantis landed at Edwards AFB on February 20; plans to land on February 18 and 19 were called off due to persistent wind problems at Kennedy Space Center. The deorbit burn was at 1927 GMT and lowered the orbit from 370 x 386 km to about 50 x 380 km. The nominal entry interface at 122 km came at 2002 GMT and touchdown on runway 22 was at 20:33 GMT. On March 1 Atlantis was flown on the back of NASA's SCA 911 carrier aircraft to Altus AFB, Oklahoma, en route to Kennedy.
7 February 2001 - STS-98 Mission Status Report #01. Flight: ISS EO-1, STS-98. Atlantis' five astronauts blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center at sunset tonight to deliver the U.S. Laboratory Destiny to the International Space Station (ISS), the cornerstone of scientific research on the complex and the new command and control center for Station operations.

Commander Ken Cockrell, Pilot Mark Polansky and Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam, ...more...

8 February 2001 - STS-98 Mission Status Report #02. Flight: ISS EO-1, STS-98. The five-member crew of Atlantis is in its first full day in space continuing its pursuit of the International Space Station. After a slightly abbreviated sleep period, Atlantis' astronauts were awakened at 6:13 a.m. Central time as the Shuttle trailed the Station by approximately 2,000 statute miles (3,200 kilometers). The first wakeup call of the flight was "Where You At", a jazz selection by Pilot Mark Polansky's late uncle, Zoot Sims.

The first full day in orbit for Astronauts Ken Cockrell, Polansky, Marsha Ivins, ...more...

8 February 2001 - STS-98 Mission Status Report #03. Flight: ISS EO-1, STS-98. With the 16-ton, bus-sized Destiny laboratory now virtually weightless in its cargo bay, the Space Shuttle Atlantis today drew ever closer to Destiny's permanent home, the International Space Station, and the five shuttle astronauts prepared for the complex construction job to come.

More than two thousand miles ahead, the three-member space station crew -- passing ...more...

10 February 2001 - EVA STS-98-1. Assignment: EVA Crew. Flight: STS-98. Tom Jones and Bob Curbeam began the first STS-98 spacewalk from the ODS airlock on Atlantis, supervising the ISS/Destiny assembly operations. The airlock was depressurized at 1544 GMT. PMA-2 was berthed on Z1 at 1650 GMT; Destiny was unberthed from the payload bay at 1735 GMT and docked to Unity at 1900 GMT. At 1935 GMT Curbeam was connecting ammonia coolant lines when a leaking connector sprayed ammonia into space, contaminating his suit. He was ordered to stay in sunlight to bake off the ammonia. At around 2311 GMT the spacewalkers returned to the airlock, closing the hatch at 2318 GMT. A new depressurization for decontamination was begun at 2342 GMT, with the airlock fully depressurized at 2350 GMT. The hatch was then opened and closed quickly at 2351-2352 GMT, to flush the airlock of any ammonia residue. This last event was not counted as an EVA by NASA.
12 February 2001 - EVA STS-98-2. Assignment: EVA Crew. Flight: STS-98. STS-98 EVA-2 began at 1555 GMT on February 12 with depressurization of the airlock. The astronauts went to battery power at 1559 GMT. The PMA-2 docking port was attached to Destiny at 1728 GMT. The Power Data Grapple Fixture (PDGF) was removed from its location on an adaptive payload carrier on the port side of the payload bay (probably bay 5P) and installed on Destiny. The PDGF will be used by the Station's robot arm, and is an improved grapple fixture with electrical power and data ports. The hatch was closed at 2240 GMT and the airlock was repressurized at 2249 GMT
14 February 2001 - EVA STS-98-3. Assignment: EVA Crew. Flight: STS-98. On the third STS-98 EVA the airlock was depressurized at 1443 GMT, with hatch open at around 1445 and battery power at 1448. The spare SASA S-band antenna was unberthed from an adapter beam in the payload bay (around bay 4P?) and installed on Z1. The +X (starboard) TCS radiator on P6, launched on the previous mission, was deployed at 1649 GMT. The astronauts completed the spacewalk with repressurization of the airlock at 2013 GMT
18 February 2001 - STS-98 Mission Status Report #23. Flight: ISS EO-1, STS-98. Atlantis' homecoming was delayed today until Monday as gusty winds at the Kennedy Space Center forced a waveoff of the Shuttle's landing at the Florida spaceport.

Commander Ken Cockrell, Pilot Mark Polansky and Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam, ...more...

18 February 2001 - STS-98 Mission Status Report #22. Flight: ISS EO-1, STS-98. Atlantis' astronauts were awakened just before 4 a.m. Central time Sunday, ready for a homecoming to the Kennedy Space Center later today, weather permitting.

With the U.S. Laboratory Destiny operating in excellent shape as the newest addition ...more...

19 February 2001 - STS-98 Mission Status Report #24. Flight: ISS EO-1, STS-98. After an extra day in orbit, Atlantis' astronauts will try again to return to the Kennedy Space Center today to wrap up a 4.9 million mile mission to deliver the U.S. Laboratory Destiny to the International Space Station (ISS). Preliminary weather forecasts indicate the possibility of gusty winds and decks of broken clouds at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Cape this afternoon, similar to the conditions that forced a waveoff of the Shuttle's return yesterday.

Atlantis has two opportunities today for a landing at the Kennedy Space Center. ...more...

19 February 2001 - STS-98 Mission Status Report #25. Flight: ISS EO-1, STS-98. For the second day in a row, Atlantis' astronauts were foiled in their attempt to land at the Kennedy Space Center by high winds which caused another 24-hour delay in their homecoming until Tuesday.

As was the case on Sunday, flight controllers tried to bring Commander Ken Cockrell, ...more...

20 February 2001 - STS-98 Mission Status Report #26. Flight: ISS EO-1, STS-98. Atlantis' astronauts are hoping that the third time will be the charm today as an improving weather forecast at the Kennedy Space Center holds hope for the Shuttle's return to the Florida spaceport following two consecutive days of weather related wave-offs.

The Kennedy Space Center remains the primary target for today's landing, with two ...more...

20 February 2001 - STS-98 Mission Status Report #27. Flight: ISS EO-1, STS-98. Atlantis' astronauts glided to a belated but textbook touchdown at Edwards Air Force Base, California today, wrapping up a 5.3 million mile mission to deliver the U.S. Laboratory Destiny to the International Space Station (ISS).

With Commander Ken Cockrell at the controls, Atlantis darted through high clouds ...more...

20 February 2001 - Landing of STS-98. Assignment: Return Crew. Flight: STS-98. STS-98 landed at 20:33 GMT.
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