Jack Robert Lousma (born February 29, 1936) is an American
astronaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
,
aeronautical engineer, retired
United States Marine Corps officer, former
naval aviator
Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases.
Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...
,
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
astronaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
, and politician. He was a member of the second crew,
Skylab-3, on the
Skylab
Skylab was the first United States space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three separate three-astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Major operations in ...
space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station i ...
in 1973. In 1982, he commanded
STS-3, the third
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially 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. Its official program na ...
mission. Lousma was inducted into the
United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1997. He is the last living crew member of both of his spaceflights.
Lousma was later the
Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
*Republican Party (Liberia)
* Republican Part ...
nominee for a seat in the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
from
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
in
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
, losing to incumbent
Carl Levin
Carl Milton Levin (June 28, 1934 – July 29, 2021) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Michigan from 1979 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the chair of the Senate Armed Services C ...
who won his second of six terms.
Early life and education
Lousma was born in
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...
, on February 29, 1936.
He is of Dutch (
Frisian) descent.
His father's name was spelled Louwsma, but he kept the 'w' off of his son's birth certificate to make the name easier to spell.
He graduated from Angell Elementary School, Tappan Middle School, and
Pioneer High School in
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...
in 1954.
Lousma was a
Boy Scout
A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...
and earned the rank of
Tenderfoot Scout.
He received a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree in
aeronautical engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: Aeronautics, aeronautical engineering and Astronautics, astronautical engineering. A ...
from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1959. He played on the
football team as a backup
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
until an elbow injury ended his career.
[ He earned a ]Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School
The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California.
It offers master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 70 fields of study to the U.S. Armed Forces, DOD ci ...
in 1965.
Military service
Lousma became a United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
officer in 1959, and received his aviator wings in 1960 after completing training at the Naval Air Training Command. He was then assigned to VMA-224, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (2nd MAW) is the major east coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps and is headquartered in Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The Wing provides the aviation combat element for the ...
(2nd MAW), as an attack pilot and later served with VMA-224, 1st Marine Air Wing
The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing is an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps that serves as the Aviation Combat Element of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The wing is headquartered at Camp Foster on the island of Okinawa, Japan. Activ ...
, at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. He was a reconnaissance pilot with VMCJ-2, 2nd MAW, at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point (*) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, United States, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 and ...
, North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
, before being assigned to the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
.[
He has logged 7,000 hours of flight time; including 700 hours in ]general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
aircraft, 1,619 hours in space, 4,500 hours in jet aircraft
A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by jet engines.
Whereas the engines in propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much lower speeds and altitudes, je ...
, and 240 hours in helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
s.[
]
NASA career
Lousma was one of the 19 astronauts selected in NASA Astronaut Group 5 in April 1966. He served as a member of the astronaut support crews for the Apollo 9, 10, and 13 missions.[ He was the ]CAPCOM
is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
recipient of the "''Houston, we've had a problem''" message from Apollo 13
Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted aft ...
.[ He may have also been selected as either the command module pilot or the lunar module pilot for Apollo 20, which was canceled. He was the pilot for Skylab-3 from July 28 to September 25, 1973, and was commander on STS-3, from March 22 until March 30, 1982, logging a total of over 1,619 hours in space.
Lousma also spent 11 hours on two ]spacewalk
Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable atmosphere of Earth, Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmen ...
s outside the Skylab space station. He served as backup docking module pilot of the United States flight crew for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) mission which was completed successfully in July 1975.[
]
Spaceflight experience
The crew on this 59½ day flight included Alan Bean (spacecraft commander), Lousma (pilot), and Owen K. Garriott
Owen Kay Garriott (November 22, 1930 – April 15, 2019) was an American electrical engineer and NASA astronaut, who spent 60 days aboard the Skylab space station in 1973 during the Skylab 3 mission, and 10 days aboard Spacelab-1 on a Spac ...
who acted as a science-pilot. The crew installed six replacement rate gyroscope
A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rota ...
s used for attitude control of the spacecraft and a twin-pole sunshade used for thermal control
A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...
, and they repaired nine major experiment or operational equipment items. Skylab-3 accomplished all its mission goals while completing 858 revolutions of the Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, and traveling some in orbit. They devoted 305-man hours to extensive solar observations from above the atmosphere, which included viewing two major solar flares and numerous smaller flares and coronal transients. Also acquired and returned to Earth were 16,000 photographs and of magnetic tape
Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic storage made of a thin, magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. It was developed in Germany in 1928, based on the earlier magnetic wire recording from Denmark. Devices that use magne ...
documenting Earth resources observations. The crew completed 333 medical experiment performances and obtained valuable data on the effects of extended weightlessness
Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight. It is also termed zero gravity, zero G-force, or zero-G.
Weight is a measurement of the force on an object at rest in a relatively strong gravitational fi ...
on humans. Skylab-3 ended with a Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
splashdown and recovery by .[ ]
Lousma was originally selected as the pilot of the two-man crew of STS-2, alongside commander Fred Haise. This was a planned mission scheduled to launch in mid-1979, which was intended to use the Teleoperator Retrieval System
The Teleoperator Retrieval System was an uncrewed space tug ordered by NASA in the late 1970s to re-boost Skylab using the Space Shuttle.
Description
TRS was a design for an uncrewed robotic space tug designed to be capable of remote payload ...
to boost the orbit of Skylab, to allow for the space station's potential further use. This mission was eventually scrubbed, owing to the delays in getting the Shuttle system ready for flight. As a result, following Haise's decision to leave NASA, Lousma was named as commander of STS-3.
STS-3, the third orbital test flight of Space Shuttle '' Columbia'', launched from the 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 National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...
, Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, on March 22, 1982, into a circular orbit above the Earth. Lousma was the spacecraft commander and C. Gordon Fullerton
Charles Gordon Fullerton (October 11, 1936 – August 21, 2013) was a United States Air Force colonel, a USAF and NASA astronaut, and a research pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California. was the pilot on this eight-day mission. Major flight test objectives included exposing ''Columbia'' to extremes in thermal stress and the first use of the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) to grapple and maneuver a Payload
Payload is the object or the entity which is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of ...
in space. The crew also operated several scientific experiments in the orbiter's cabin and on the OSS-1 pallet in the payload bay. ''Columbia'' responded favorably to the thermal tests and was found to be better than expected as a scientific platform. The crew accomplished almost all the mission objectives assigned, and after a one-day delay due to bad weather, landed on the lake bed at White Sands, New Mexico
White Sands is a census-designated place (CDP) in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. It consists of the main residential area on the White Sands Missile Range. As of the 2010 census the population of the CDP was 1,651. It is part of t ...
, on March 30, 1982, the only shuttle flight to land there. ''Columbia'' traveled during 129.9 orbits and mission duration was 192 hours, 4 minutes, 49 seconds. Lousma left NASA on October 1, 1983, and retired from the Marine Corps on November 1, 1983.
Political experience
A Republican, Lousma lost the 1984 United States Senate election in Michigan against incumbent Carl Levin, receiving 47% of the vote. The astronaut-politician survived a bitter primary fight against former Republican congressman Jim Dunn to capture the nomination with 63% of the vote. Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
's landslide re-election was a boon to Lousma, but he was hurt late in the campaign when video surfaced of him telling a group of Japanese auto manufacturers that his family owned a Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
car.
Personal life
Lousma and Gratia Kay were married in 1956. They have four children: Timothy J. (born December 23, 1963), Matthew O. (born July 14, 1966), Mary T. (born September 22, 1968), Joseph L. (born September 14, 1980). A long time resident of Scio Township, near Ann Arbor, Michigan, he moved with his wife to Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
in September 2013.[
]
Awards and honors
Lousma was awarded the Johnson Space Center
The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U ...
Certificate of Commendation (1970); the NASA Distinguished Service Medal
The NASA Distinguished Service Medal is the highest award that can be bestowed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States. The medal may be presented to any member of the federal government, including both milita ...
(1973);[ presented the ]Navy Distinguished Service Medal
The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to sailors and Marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritoriou ...
and Navy Astronaut Wings (1974),[ the City of Chicago Gold Medal (1974), the Marine Corps Aviation Association's Exceptional Achievement Award (1974),] the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...
awarded him the V. M. Komarov Diploma for 1973,[ the AIAA ]Octave Chanute Award
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. (AIAA) established the Octave Chanute Award named after Octave Chanute. Pilot(s) or test personnel that contributed to the advancement of the art, science, or technology of aeronautics r ...
for 1975, the AAS Flight Achievement Award for 1974; inducted into a second NASA Distinguished Service Medal
The NASA Distinguished Service Medal is the highest award that can be bestowed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States. The medal may be presented to any member of the federal government, including both milita ...
(1982),[ the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal (1982),][ ]NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
Silver Anniversary Award (1983).[
]
The three Skylab astronaut crews were awarded the 1973 Robert J. Collier Trophy
The Robert J. Collier Trophy is an annual aviation award administered by the U.S. National Aeronautic Association (NAA), presented to those who have made "the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to im ...
"For proving beyond question the value of man in future explorations of space and the production of data of benefit to all the people on Earth". Gerald P. Carr
Colonel Gerald Paul Carr (August 22, 1932August 26, 2020) was an American mechanical and aeronautical engineer, United States Marine Corps officer, naval aviator, and NASA astronaut. He was commander of Skylab 4, the third and final crewed vi ...
accepted the 1975 Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy The Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to an individual or group determined to have made the most impact on space activities over the past year. It is named after Robert Goddard, the father of modern rocketry. It is the prima ...
from President Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
, awarded to the Skylab astronauts.
Lousma was inducted with Fullerton into the International Space Hall of Fame
The New Mexico Museum of Space History is a museum and planetarium complex in Alamogordo, New Mexico dedicated to artifacts and displays related to space flight and the Space Age. It includes the International Space Hall of Fame. The Museum of S ...
during a ceremony with the governor of New Mexico in 1982 for their involvement in the STS-3 mission. The governor also presented them with the International Space Hall of Fame's Pioneer Award, and were the second group to receive this award. He was inducted the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame in 1989. He was one of 24 Apollo astronauts who were inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame
The United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, located inside the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Heroes & Legends building on Merritt Island, Florida, honors American astronauts and features the world's largest collection of their personal memora ...
in 1997.
He was presented an honorary doctorate of astronautical science from the University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1973, an honorary D.Sc.
Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
from Hope College in 1982, an honorary D.Sc. in business administration
Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...
from Cleary College
Cleary University is a private university focused on business education with its main campus in Livingston County, Michigan. It also has an education center located in Detroit. Cleary University offers certificate, ABA, BBA, MS, and MBA programs. ...
in 1986, and an honorary doctorate from Sterling College in 1988.
Lousma has a closed-end street (Lousma Drive) named after him in Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
, Michigan (suburb of Grand Rapids) that begins west off of Roger B. Chaffee Memorial Blvd just south of 32nd Street SE, in an industrial park area.
See also
* The Astronaut Monument
* 1984 United States Senate election in Michigan
The 1984 United States Senate election in Michigan was held on November 6, 1984. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Carl Levin won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican candidate and former astronaut Jack Lousma. Coinciding with Repu ...
References
External links
Astronautix biography of Jack R. Lousma
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lousma, Jack R.
1936 births
Living people
1973 in spaceflight
1982 in spaceflight
American astronauts
American astronaut-politicians
Apollo program astronauts
American aerospace engineers
Aviators from Michigan
Military personnel from Michigan
United States Marine Corps astronauts
United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees
Politicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan
Politicians from Ann Arbor, Michigan
American people of Dutch descent
American people of Frisian descent
University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni
Naval Postgraduate School alumni
United States Marine Corps colonels
United States Naval Aviators
Michigan Republicans
Recipients of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal
Collier Trophy recipients
Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Space Shuttle program astronauts
Skylab program astronauts
Spacewalkers