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Through the years, Auburn University and its alumni have greatly advanced the nation’s efforts in space exploration—with six alumni becoming astronauts, several others serving in lead governmental and space agency roles and the university partnering with NASA on many high-level projects. To commemorate National Space Day, Friday, May 6, Auburn is recognizing the Auburn people, programs and partnerships that have moved the needle forward and continually upward in the never-ending quest of space discovery.
Auburn Astronauts
Nancy Jan Davis
Hometown: Huntsville, Alabama (born in Cocoa Beach, Florida)
Degree earned: BS in mechanical engineering in 1977
Hours in Space: 673+
Mission details: Flew three Space Shuttle missions. First in 1992 was 50th for Space Shuttle program. On Endeavour, operated Spacelab and its subsystems and performed experiments. Second mission in 1994 was first Space Shuttle flight to feature a Russian cosmonaut, first flight of the Wake Shield Facility and second flight of the Space Habitation Module, or Spacehab. On Discovery, operated Wake Shield Facility on Remote Manipulator System and performed experiments in the Spacehab. Payload commander on Discovery in 1997 for third and final mission. Featured a variety of research objectives and deployment of the CRISTA-SPAS payload.
Career after space: At Nasa headquarters, became director of the Human Exploration and Development of Space, Independent Assurance Office for the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance. Later made director of the Flight Projects Directorate and head of Safety and Mission Assurance at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. Inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame. Retired from Nasa in 2005.
"I flew something from Auburn in every mission. Sometimes I would ask Auburn what they wanted me to fly. I also always had an orange and blue shirt with me."
Col. Henry “Hank” Hartsfield Jr.
Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama
Degree earned: BS in physics in 1954
Hours in space: 480+ (7,300+ jet hours with USAF)
Mission details: Named an astronaut with U.S. Air Force’s Manned Orbiting Laboratory but cancelled in 1969. Assigned to Nasa two months after moon landing. Participated in Apollo program, but never flew on a mission. Capsule communicator to Apollo 16 (April 1972) from mission control. Support crew member for three Skylab missions (May 1973-February 1974). First spaceflight as pilot of Space Shuttle Columbia’s fourth and final orbital flight test in 1982, with commander and fellow Auburn alumnus Ken Mattingly. Upon landing, pair were greeted by President and First Lady Ronald and Nancy Reagan. President recognized them as “you two sons of Auburn” in speech. Commanded maiden flight of Space Shuttle Discovery in 1984 and last successful flight of Space Shuttle Challenger in 1985.
Career after space: Retired from USAF in 1977. Held management positions at the Johnson Space Center, Nasa headquarters and Marshall Space Flight Center. Set the groundwork for the International Space Station, which launched in 1998. Retired from Nasa in 1998 and joined Raytheon, serving as vice president for aerospace engineering services in Houston, until retirement in 2005. Received numerous awards and honors. Inducted into the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame and U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. An honorary degree from Auburn in 1986 and the Auburn College of Sciences and Mathematics Distinguished Alumnus award in 2007. Died 2014.
Thomas Kenneth “TK” Mattingly
Hometown: Hialeah, Florida (born in Chicago, Illinois)
Degree earned: BS in aeronautical engineering in 1958
Hours in space: 500+
Mission details: One of just 24 people to have flown to the moon. Support crew for Apollo 8 (December 1968) and Apollo 11 (July 1969). Command module pilot for Apollo 13 (April 1970) but was scratched after belief he was exposed to German measles. Played a crucial role in bringing spacecraft safely back to Earth. Portrayed by Gary Sinise in the popular 1995 film Apollo 13. Command module pilot for Apollo 16 (April 1972), where he made 64 lunar orbits. On return flight, performed one of only three extravehicular activity, or EVA, in history. Flew two Space Shuttle missions. Commander of fourth and final orbital test flight of Columbia in 1982 with fellow Auburn alumnus Hank Hartsfield as pilot. Upon landing, pair were greeted by President and First Lady Ronald and Nancy Reagan. President recognized them as “you two sons of Auburn” in speech. Commander of Discovery in 1985, first Department of Defense mission.
Career after space: Retired from Nasa in 1985 and U.S. Navy in 1986 as two-star Rear Admiral. Earned NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal. Inducted into U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, International Space Hall of Fame and the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame. Worked as a director in Grumman’s Space Station Support Division. Headed the Atlas booster program for General Dynamics in San Diego. Later became vice president at Lockheed Martin, heading its X-33 development program. Currently lives in Arlington, Virginia.
“There’s really no horizon, and there is nothing to see except this little handrail, and a nickel-sized Earth. Now that’s a thrill.” —on conducting an extravehicular activity exercise outside the Apollo 16 spacecraft.
Kathryn “Kathy” Ryan Cordell Thornton
Hometown: Montgomery, Alabama
Degree earned: BS in physics in 1974
Hours in space: 975+ (including 21+ in extravehicular activity, or EVA)
Mission details: Selected by Nasa for four space flights, 1984-95. Mission specialist on Space Shuttle Discovery in 1989. Crew member of Space Shuttle Endeavor’s maiden flight in 1992 to retrieve, repair and deploy a stranded telecommunications satellite. Conducted her first EVA, or spacewalks, to evaluate assembly of a future space station. Mission specialist on Endeavor’s 1993 mission to service Hubble Space Telescope. One of four astronauts to record five spacewalks during 11-day flight. Set a record 21 EVA hours for women astronauts, which she held until 2006. Payload commander of the second United States Microgravity Laboratory, better known as Spacelab, mission aboard Space Shuttle Columbia in 1995.
Career after space: Retired from Nasa in 1996. Astronaut Hall of Fame Class of 2010. Auburn College of Sciences and Mathematics Distinguished Alumna in 2016. Served on several Nasa review committees and task groups, National Research Council Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board, Space Foundation Board and the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. Professor emerita at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science.
James “Jim” Voss
Hometown: Opelika, Alabama (born in Cordova, Alabama)
Degree earned: BS in aerospace engineering in 1972
Hours in space: 4,853
Mission details: Served on five Space Shuttle missions, 1991-2001. Mission specialist on Atlantis in 1991 and Discovery in 1992. Mission specialist and payload commander of Endeavor, which orbited Earth 171 times in 1995. Performed a six-hour spacewalk with a fellow crew member. Mission specialist on Atlantis’ voyage in 2000 to deliver equipment and supplies to the then-unmanned International Special Station. Completed another six-hour spacewalk to perform work on the station. Mission specialist on Discovery’s 2001 to rotate crew members and resupply the space station. Three-person crew spent 163 days aboard station, became first person to operate the Space Station Robotic Manipulator System. Crew recorded two spacewalks; his eight-hour, 56-minute spacewalk remains the longest to date. Returned home and back to space a final time as mission specialist on Discovery in 2001.
Career after space: Served as deputy of flight operations for the Space Station Program Mission Integration and Operations Office before retiring from Nasa in 2003. Assumed the role of associate dean of engineering for external affairs at Auburn, while also aerospace engineering professor, teaching class on human spacecraft design. Scholar-in-Residence, College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado Boulder. Currently lives in Boulder.
“I’m very proud that I can represent Auburn as one of the astronauts. (During) that very important time of your life while you’re going to college and developing in many different ways is what made me what I was, and I’m convinced helped me get to where I eventually got to be, and that is flying and living in space.”
Clifton Curtis “C.C.” Williams
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama
Degree earned: BS in mechanical engineering in 1954
Hours in space: 2,100+ hours of flight time in jet aircraft
Mission details: Naval aviator. Major, U.S. Marine Corps. Chosen by Nasa in 1963 as one of its third group of astronauts, along with 13 others. Served as a backup pilot for Gemini 10, which launched in 1966. Chosen to be backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 9, which launched in March 1969. Tragically killed in airplane accident in 1967. Never flew into space. In his honor, the Apollo 12 (November 1969) mission patch features four stars, one for three astronauts and another for Williams, the original lunar module pilot. Naval aviator wings and silver astronaut pin placed to rest on lunar surface. Name appears on NASA’s Space Mirror Astronaut Memorial at Kennedy Space Center.
“If you said which mission I would most like to have, I’d say the first lunar flight … from the standpoint of personal satisfaction and accomplishment.”
Auburn's Reach in to space
Contributing Crew
Director, Kennedy Space Center, Sept. 26, 1979-Aug. 2, 1986
Director, Kennedy Space Center, Aug. 31, 1987-Dec. 31, 1991
Director, Kennedy Space Center, Aug. 9, 2003- January 2007
*Many other Auburn alumni have also contributed through the years to the effort of space exploration in their own right. While not a complete list, that group includes those such as Todd May ’90, director, Marshall Space Flight Center, February 2016-August 2018; Brooks Moore ’48, who spent more than 50 years in Huntsville, Alabama working in the space industry; Jim Odom ’55, who led the development of the Hubble Space Telescope; John W. Thomas ’60, an instrumental cog in space programs for 60 years; Gerald W. Smith ’61, ’71, whose 40-year career included stints at Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA headquarters and Stennis Space Center; Tim Monk ’05, senior manager, New Glenn Project at Blue Origin; and Jonathan Mitchell ’13, policy advisor for the New Zealand Space Agency.
