Jan Davis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jan Davis
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Davis in 1987
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| Born |
Nancy Jan Smotherman
November 1, 1953 Cocoa Beach, Florida, U.S.
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| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
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Time in space
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28d 2h 7m |
| Selection | NASA Group 12 (1987) |
| Missions | STS-47 STS-60 STS-85 |
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Mission insignia
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Nancy Jan Davis, born on November 1, 1953, is a former American astronaut. She flew into space three times, spending over 673 hours (that's more than 28 days!) orbiting Earth. Jan Davis has now retired from NASA, the United States space agency.
Contents
Jan Davis's Early Life and Education
Nancy Jan Davis was born in Cocoa Beach, Florida. However, she grew up and considers Huntsville, Alabama, her hometown.
She finished Huntsville High School in 1971. Jan then went to college, earning degrees in different subjects. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in applied biology from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1975. Later, in 1977, she earned another Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn University. She continued her studies at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, getting a Master of Science degree in 1983 and a doctorate (PhD) in 1985, both in mechanical engineering.
Engineering Career Before Space
After finishing college in 1977, Jan Davis started working for Texaco in Texas as a petroleum engineer. She helped find ways to get more oil out of the ground.
In 1979, she joined NASA at the Marshall Space Flight Center as an aerospace engineer. This meant she helped design and build things that fly in space. By 1986, she became a team leader. Her team was in charge of checking the structure of important space tools. These included the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. She also worked on redesigning parts of the Space Shuttle's solid rocket boosters.
Jan Davis also did special research during her graduate studies. She looked at how strong certain materials, called composite materials, would be over a long time. She even holds a patent for one of her inventions and has written many technical papers.
Becoming a NASA Astronaut
Jan Davis became an official NASA astronaut in June 1987. Her first job was to help with the equipment and experiments that would fly on the Space Shuttle.
After that, she worked as a CAPCOM in Mission Control. A CAPCOM is the person who talks directly to the astronauts in space from Earth. She communicated with Shuttle crews for seven different missions.
After her first space flight, Jan became the expert for the Remote Manipulator System (RMS). This is the robotic arm on the Space Shuttle. She was responsible for how it worked, how astronauts trained to use it, and what it carried. After her second space flight, she led NASA's Education Working Group. She also became the Chief of the Payloads Branch. This group helped astronauts with all the experiments and equipment for the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.
Jan Davis flew on three space missions, spending over 673 hours in space. She was a mission specialist on STS-47 in 1992 and STS-60 in 1994. She was also the payload commander on STS-85 in 1997.
STS-47: Her First Space Mission
STS-47, also known as Spacelab-J, was the 50th Space Shuttle mission. It launched on September 12, 1992. This mission was a team effort between the United States and Japan. They did 43 different experiments, studying things like how living things react in space and how materials behave.
During this eight-day mission, Jan Davis was in charge of operating the Spacelab module. She also performed many of the experiments. After orbiting Earth 126 times, the Space Shuttle Endeavour landed back at Kennedy Space Center on September 20, 1992.
STS-60: A Historic Flight
STS-60 was another important Space Shuttle mission. It was the second flight of the Spacehab module and the first flight of the Wake Shield Facility. This mission launched on February 3, 1994. It was also the first time a Russian cosmonaut flew as part of a Space Shuttle crew.
During this eight-day mission, Jan Davis's main job was to move the Wake Shield Facility using the robotic arm. This facility was used to grow special crystals in space. She also performed many scientific experiments inside the Spacehab module. The Space Shuttle Discovery landed at Kennedy Space Center on February 11, 1994, after completing 130 orbits around Earth.
STS-85: Payload Commander
Jan Davis was the payload commander for STS-85. This mission launched on the Space Shuttle Discovery on August 7, 1997. During this 12-day mission, Jan helped deploy and retrieve a special satellite called CRISTA-SPAS. She also operated a Japanese robotic arm called the Manipulator Flight Demonstration (MFD).
The mission also carried several other scientific experiments. These experiments helped scientists learn more about astronomy, Earth sciences, life sciences, and materials science. The mission completed 189 orbits of Earth, traveling 4.7 million miles. The Space Shuttle Discovery landed back at Kennedy Space Center on August 19, 1997.
Jan Davis's Later NASA Career and Retirement
After her third space flight on STS-85, Jan Davis took on new leadership roles at NASA. She worked at NASA Headquarters, helping to make sure that space exploration projects were safe and successful.
In July 1999, she moved to the Marshall Space Flight Center. There, she became the Director of the Flight Projects Directorate. This role involved overseeing the International Space Station (ISS) Payload Operations Center and the Chandra X-ray Observatory Program.
After the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, she became the head of Safety and Mission Assurance at Marshall. Her job was to help make sure the Space Shuttle could safely fly again. Jan Davis retired from NASA in 2005.
After leaving NASA, she worked for engineering companies. She is now fully retired.
In 2023, Jan Davis wrote her first book, "Air Born - Two Generations in Flight." This book tells the story of her father, who was a B-17 pilot and prisoner of war in World War II, and her own space flight career. In 2024, she published a companion book, "Air Born - Artistic Musings of a WWII Pilot and POW." This book includes her father's wartime log and cartoons he drew.
Personal Life
Jan Davis is married to former Judge Schuyler Richardson.
Awards and Honors
Jan Davis has received many awards for her amazing work. Some of these include:
- The NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1998
- The NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1995 and 2002
- The NASA Space Flight Medal in 1992, 1994, and 1997
She has also been honored by being inducted into the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame and the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.
See also
In Spanish: Jan Davis para niños
