Veteran Of Five Spaceflights Beginning In 1993
NASA astronaut Janice Voss passed away from cancer Monday night.
One of only six women who have flown in space five times, Voss'
career was highlighted by her work and dedication to scientific
payloads and exploration.
"As the payload commander of two space shuttle missions, Janice
was responsible for paving the way for experiments that we now
perform on a daily basis on the International Space Station," said
Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office. "By improving the way
scientists are able to analyze their data, and establishing the
experimental methods and hardware necessary to perform these unique
experiments, Janice and her crew ensured that our space station
would be the site of discoveries that we haven't even
imagined."
"During the last few years, Janice continued to lead our
office's efforts to provide the best possible procedures to crews
operating experiments on the station today," Whitson added. "Even
more than Janice's professional contributions, we will miss her
positive outlook on the world and her determination to make all
things better."
Voss began her career with NASA in 1973 while a student at
Purdue University. She returned to NASA in 1977 to work as an
instructor, teaching entry guidance and navigation to space shuttle
crews. After completing her doctorate in 1987, she worked within
the aerospace industry until she was selected as an astronaut in
1990.
Voss’ first spaceflight mission was STS-57 in 1993, the
first flight of the Spacehab module. She next flew on STS-63 in
1995, a mission to the Mir space station, and third flight of
Spacehab. She also flew as a payload commander on STS-83 in 1997
with the Microgravity Science Laboratory, but the mission was cut
short due to problems with one of the orbiter’s three fuel
power generation units. Voss, the crew and MSL flew again as the
STS-94 MSL-1 Spacelab mission, focused on materials and combustion
science research in microgravity.
Her last mission was STS-99 in 2000, the Shuttle Radar
Topography Mission, which mapped more than 47 million square miles
of the Earth's land surface at unprecedented resolution levels. In
total, Voss spent more than 49 days in space.
From 2004 to 2007, Voss served as the science director for the
Kepler spacecraft at NASA's Ames Research Center. Voss most
recently served as the payloads lead of the Astronaut Office's
Station Branch.