Jerry Lynn Ross (born January 20, 1948,

Crown Point, Indiana Crown Point is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 34,884 per the 2023 American Community Survey. The city was incorporated in 1868. On October 31, 1834, Solon Robinson and his family became ...

) is a retired

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

officer,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, and a former

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

. Ross is a veteran of seven

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

missions, making him the joint record holder for most spaceflights (a record he shares with Franklin Chang-Díaz). His papers, photographs, and many personal items are in the Barron Hilton Flight and Space Exploration Archives at Purdue University. He was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame during ceremonies in May 2014. Ross is the author of ''Spacewalker: My Journey in Space and Faith as NASA's Record-Setting Frequent Flyer'' (Purdue University Press, 2013) with John Norberg. In March 2014, it was announced ''Spacewalker'' would be available in a French translation through the specialist aerospace publisher, Altipresse. Fellow astronaut, Chris Hadfield, describes Ross in his 2013 autobiography, ''An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth'', as "the embodiment of the trustworthy, loyal, courteous and brave astronaut archetype."

Education

Ross graduated from Crown Point High School,

, in 1966. He received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in 1970 and a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in 1972, both in

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

from

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

. At Purdue, he joined the Purdue Reamer Club.

Military career

Ross, an Air Force

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

student at Purdue University, received his commission upon graduation in 1970. After receiving his master's degree from Purdue in 1972, he entered active duty with the Air Force and was assigned to the Ramjet Engine Division of Air Force Aero-Propulsion Laboratory at

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...

, in Ohio. He conducted computer-aided design studies on

ramjet A ramjet is a form of airbreathing jet engine that requires forward motion of the engine to provide air for combustion. Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around and can operate up to . Ramjets can be particularly appropriat ...

propulsion systems, served as the project engineer for captive tests of a supersonic ramjet missile using a rocket sled track, and as the project manager for preliminary configuration development of the ASALM strategic air-launched missile. From June 1974 to July 1975, he was the Laboratory Executive Officer and Chief of the Management Operations Office. Ross graduated from the USAF Test Pilot School’s Flight Test Engineer Course in 1976 and subsequently was assigned to the 6510th Test Wing at

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...

, California. While on assignment to the 6510th’s Flight Test Engineering Directorate, he was project engineer on a limited flying qualities evaluation of the RC-135S aircraft, and, as lead B-1 flying qualities flight test engineer, was responsible for the stability, control, and flight control system testing performance on the B-1 aircraft. As chief B-1 flight test engineer, he was also responsible for training and supervising all Air Force B-1 flight test engineer crew members and for performing the mission planning for the B-1 offensive avionics test aircraft. Ross has flown in 21 different types of aircraft, holds a private pilot's license, and has logged over 3,900 flying hours, the majority in military aircraft. He retired from the Air Force on March 31, 2000.

NASA career

In February 1979, Ross was assigned to the Payload Operations Division at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, as a payload officer/flight controller who was responsible for the flight operations integration of payloads into the

. Ross was selected as an

in May 1980. His technical assignments since then have included EVA, or " space walks", RMS ( Remote Manipulator System, or "robotic arm"), and chase team; support crewman for STS 41-B, STS 41-C and STS 51-A; spacecraft communicator (

CAPCOM is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...

) during STS 41-B, STS 41-C, STS 41-D, STS 51-A and STS 51-D; Chief of the Mission Support Branch; member of the 1990 Astronaut Selection Board; Acting Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office, Chief of the Astronaut Office EVA and Robotics Branch, and Astronaut Office Branch Chief for

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...

Operations Support. Ross was assigned to STS-62-A, the first Shuttle mission to launch from

Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida * Vandenberg S ...

, but the mission was canceled after the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster. Ross flew as a

mission specialist Mission specialist (MS) is a term for a specific position held by astronauts who are tasked with conducting a range of scientific, medical, or engineering experiments during a spaceflight mission. These specialists were usually assigned to a s ...

on STS 61-B (1985),

STS-27 STS-27 was the 27th NASA Space Shuttle program, Space Shuttle mission, and the third flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis, Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''. Launching on December 2, 1988, on a four-day mission, it was the second shuttle flight after the ...

(1988) and STS-37 (1991), was the Payload Commander on STS-55/

Spacelab Spacelab was a reusable laboratory developed by European Space Agency (ESA) and used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory comprised multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier, ...

-D2 (1993), and again served as a mission specialist on the second Space Shuttle to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station

Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

, STS-74 (1995), the first

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

assembly mission,

STS-88 STS-88 was the first Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It was flown by Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Endeavour, ''Endeavour'', and took the first American module, the Unity (ISS module), ''Unity'' node, to the station ...

(1998) and

STS-110 STS-110 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on 8–19 April 2002 flown by Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''. The main purpose was to install the S0 Truss segment, which forms the backbone of the truss structure on the ...

(2002). A veteran of 7 space flights, Ross has over 1,393 hours in space, including 57 hours and 55 minutes on 9 EVAs. (see below) In addition to his record number of launches, among his many personal milestones, Ross held the U.S. record for spacewalks (9) until that was surpassed by the current record holder, ISS Expedition 14 commander Michael Lopez-Alegria (10 EVA's totaling 67 hours and 40 minutes). However, there is speculation that on

(1988), Ross made an additional EVA. This shuttle mission was a classified DoD satellite launch and therefore information about the flight has never been released. Ross also holds the record for most flights on a single Space Shuttle orbiter (''

Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...

'') at five. In 2013 John Norberg, who worked with Ross on his book, filed a Freedom of Information Act concerning STS-27 with the National Reconnaissance Office. The NRO confirmed it had control of the records and declined to release any information about the flight. Ross has never commented on the objectives or his work on STS-27. Ross officially ranks third in the world for spacewalks behind Russian Anatoly Solovyev (16) and Lopez-Alegria. Ross served as Chief of the Vehicle Integration Test Office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas until he retired in January 2012. Ross retired from

on January 28, 2012, after being the first person to launch into space 7 times. He also leaves

after placing third in the most spacewalks after completing 9 EVA's.

Spaceflight experience

STS-61-B ''

'' was launched at night from the

(KSC), Florida, on November 26, 1985. During the mission, the crew deployed the MORELOS-B, AUSSAT-2, and SATCOM Ku-2

communications satellites A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. ...

, and operated numerous other experiments. Ross conducted two 6-hour spacewalks to demonstrate Space Station construction techniques with the

EASE/ACCESS The Experimental Assembly of Structures in EVA and the Assembly Concept for Construction of Erectable Space Structures, or EASE/ACCESS, were a pair of space shuttle flight experiments that were performed on STS-61-B, on November 29 and December ...

experiments. After completing 108 orbits of the Earth in 165 hours, 4 minutes, 49 seconds, ''Atlantis'' landed on Runway 22 at

, California, on December 3, 1985.

'', was launched from KSC on December 2, 1988. The mission carried a

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

payload, as well as a number of secondary payloads. After 68 orbits of the Earth in 105 hours, 6 minutes, 19 seconds, the mission concluded with a dry lakebed landing on Runway 17 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on December 6, 1988. The mission is noteworthy due to the severe damage ''Atlantis'' sustained to its critical heat-resistant tiles during ascent. STS-37 ''

'', was launched from KSC on April 5, 1991, and deployed the 35,000 pound

Compton Gamma Ray Observatory The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) was a space observatory detecting photons with photon energy, energies from 20 kElectronvolt#Properties, eV to 30 GeV, in Earth orbit from 1991 to 2000. The observatory featured four main tel ...

. Ross performed two spacewalks totaling 10 hours and 49 minutes to manually deploy the stuck Gamma Ray Observatory antenna and to test prototype

Space Station Freedom Space Station ''Freedom'' was a NASA-led multi-national project proposed in the 1980s to construct a permanently crewed space station in low Earth orbit. Despite initial approval by President Ronald Reagan and a public announcement in the 1984 ...

hardware. After 93 orbits of the Earth in 143 hours, 32 minutes, 44 seconds, the mission concluded with a landing on Runway 33, at Edwards Air Force Base, on April 11, 1991. STS-55 '' Columbia'', was launched from KSC on April 26, 1993. With Ross serving as Payload Commander/

Mission Specialist Mission specialist (MS) is a term for a specific position held by astronauts who are tasked with conducting a range of scientific, medical, or engineering experiments during a spaceflight mission. These specialists were usually assigned to a s ...

, nearly 90 experiments were conducted during the German-sponsored

D-2 mission to investigate

life sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, ...

materials science Materials science is an interdisciplinary field of researching and discovering materials. Materials engineering is an engineering field of finding uses for materials in other fields and industries. The intellectual origins of materials sci ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

, and the Earth's atmosphere. ''Columbia'' landed on May 6, 1993, at Edwards Air Force Base, after 160 orbits of the Earth in 239 hours and 45 minutes. STS-74 ''

'', launched from KSC on November 12, 1995, was NASA's second Space Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station

. During the eight-day flight, t the crew aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis attached a permanent docking module to Mir, conducted a number of secondary experiments, and transferred tons of supplies and experiment equipment between ''Atlantis'' and the Mir station. ''Atlantis'' landed at Kennedy Space Center on November 20 after accomplishing their achievements in 129 orbits of the Earth, traveling 3.4 million miles in 196 hours, 30 minutes, 44 seconds.

'' Endeavour'' (December 4–15, 1998) was the first

assembly mission. During the 12-day mission, the U.S.-built ''Unity'' module was mated with the Russian ''Zarya'' module. Ross performed three spacewalks totaling 21 hours 22 minutes to connect umbilicals and attach tools/hardware. The crew also deployed two satellites, Mighty Sat 1 and SAC-A. The mission was accomplished in 185 orbits of the Earth in 283 hours and 18 minutes.

'' (April 8–19, 2002) was the 13th Shuttle mission to visit the International Space Station (ISS). The first mission in the final phase of the ISS Assembly included the delivery and installation of the S0 Truss; the first time the station's robotic arm was used to maneuver space walkers around the station; it was also the first time that all of a shuttle crew's spacewalks were based from the station's, ''Quest'' Airlock. Ross performed 2 EVAs totaling 14 hours and 9 minutes. Mission duration was 259 hours and 42 minutes.

Organizations

Ross is a lifetime member of the

Association of Space Explorers Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

, the Purdue Alumni Association, and a corresponding member of the International Academy of Astronautics.

Awards and honors

* Defense Superior Service Medal with one Oak Leaf *

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

* Defense Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters * Meritorious Service Medal with one Oak Leaf * Distinguished Graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School * Outstanding Flight Test Engineer Award, Class 75B *Recipient of 15 NASA medals *American Astronautical Society Victor A. Prather Award for space walking achievements (1985, 1990, 1999), and Flight Achievement Award (1992, 1996, 1999, 2002) * Honorary Doctor of Science, Purdue University * Jerry Ross Elementary School in

was named after him.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Jerry Lynn 1948 births Living people Aviators from Indiana United States Air Force officers Recipients of the Legion of Merit Purdue University College of Engineering alumni U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal United States Air Force astronauts United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees NASA civilian astronauts People from Crown Point, Indiana Recipients of the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement Space Shuttle program astronauts Spacewalkers Mir crew members