Newman Credit: www.spacefacts.de |
Status: Inactive; Active 1990-2008. Born: 1956-10-16. Spaceflights: 4 . Total time in space: 43.42 days. Birth Place: Trust Territory, Pacific Islands.
Grew up in San Diego, California, son of a physician. Educated Dartmouth; Rice.
Official NASA Biography as of June 2016:James H. Newman (Ph.D.)
NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)
PERSONAL DATA: Born October 16, 1956, in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (now the Federated States of Micronesia), but considers San Diego, California, to be his hometown. Married to Mary Lee Pieper. Three children. His mother, Ms. Ruth Hansen, and his father, Dr. William Newman, are both residents of San Diego. Mary Lee’s parents, Mr. & Mrs. Wylie Bernard Pieper, reside in Houston, Texas.
EDUCATION: Graduated from La Jolla High School, San Diego, California in 1974; received a bachelor of arts degree in physics from Dartmouth College in 1978, a master of arts degree and a doctorate in physics from Rice University in 1982 and 1984, respectively.
ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the American Physical Society, Sigma Xi, and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
SPECIAL HONORS: Selected by NASA JSC to attend the 1989 summer session of the International Space University in Strasbourg, France. Awarded the 1995 Superior Achievement Award by the Institute of Navigation for "outstanding accomplishments as a Practical Navigator" for his work on GPS (Global Positioning System) on the Space Shuttle. 1996 NASA Exceptional Service Medal. Recipient of the American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Award (1994, 1999) for his work as a member of the STS-51 and STS-88 crews. As the leader of the Space Vision System Development Team, Newman shared the 2001 Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation's Team Award and shared a 2002 NASA Group Achievement Award to the Space Vision System Team.
EXPERIENCE: After graduating from Rice University in 1984, Dr. Newman did an additional year of post-doctoral work at Rice. In 1985, Dr. Newman was appointed as adjunct professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Rice University. That same year he came to work at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where his duties included responsibility for conducting flight crew and flight control team training for all mission phases in the areas of Orbiter propulsion, guidance, and control. When selected for the astronaut program he was working as a simulation supervisor responsible for a team of instructors conducting flight controller training.
Selected by NASA in January 1990, Dr. Newman began astronaut training in July 1990. His technical assignments since then include: Astronaut Office Mission Support Branch where he was part of a team responsible for crew ingress/strap-in prior to launch and crew egress after landing; Mission Development Branch working on the Shuttle on-board laptop computers; Chief of the Astronaut Office Computer Support Branch responsible for crew involvement in the development and use of computers on the Space Shuttle and Space Station.
While still assigned to the Astronaut Office Dr. Newman has also worked in various assignments at NASA. Detailed to the Space Shuttle Program Office from March 1999 to March 2001, Newman served as the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) Integration Manager responsible for the Orbiter Canadian robotic arm and the Space Vision System.
Dr Newman was detailed to the International Space Station (ISS) Program Office from December 2002 through January 2006, serving as NASA’s Director, Human Space Flight Program, Russia. As the ISS Program Manager’s lead representative to the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) and its contractors, his responsibilities included oversight of NASA’s human space flight program in Russia. This included NASA operations, logistics, and technical functions in Moscow, at NASA’s Mission Control Center operations in Korolev, and NASA’s crew training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City.
In March 2006, Dr. Newman was detailed to the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, California, as a NASA Visiting Professor in the NPS Space Systems Academic Group. Dr. Newman left NASA in July 2008 to accept a position as Professor, Space Systems at NPS to continue his involvement in teaching and research, with an emphasis on using very small satellites in hands-on education and for focused research projects of national interest.
SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: Dr. Newman flew as a mission specialist on STS-51 (1993), STS-69 (1995), STS-88 (1998) and STS-109 (2002). A veteran of four space flights, Dr. Newman has logged over 43 days in space, including six spacewalks totaling 43 hours and 13 minutes.
STS-51 Discovery, (September 12-22, 1993) was launched from and returned to make the first night landing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. During the ten-day flight, the crew of five deployed the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) and the Orbiting and Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer on the Shuttle Pallet Satellite (ORFEUS/SPAS). Newman was responsible for the operation of the SPAS, was the backup operator for the RMS, and on flight day five conducted a seven-hour, five-minute spacewalk with Carl Walz. The extravehicular activity (EVA) tested tools and techniques for use on future missions. In addition to working with numerous secondary payloads and medical test objectives, the crew successfully tested a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver to determine real-time Shuttle positions and velocities and completed a test routing Orbiter data to on-board laptop computers. STS-51 made 158 orbits of the Earth, traveling 4.1 million miles in 236 hours and 11 minutes.
STS-69 Endeavour (September 7-18, 1995), was an eleven-day mission during which the crew successfully deployed and retrieved a SPARTAN satellite and the Wake Shield Facility (WSF). Also on board was the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker payload, numerous secondary payloads, and medical experiments. Newman was responsible for the crew’s science involvement with the WSF and was also the primary RMS operator on the flight, performing the WSF and EVA RMS operations. He also operated the on-orbit tests of the Ku-band Communications Adaptor, the Relative GPS experiment, and the RMS Manipulator Positioning Display. The mission was accomplished in 171 Earth orbits, traveling 4.5 million miles in 260 hours, 29 minutes.
STS-88 Endeavour (December 4-15, 1998), was the first International Space Station assembly mission. During the twelve-day mission the Unity module was mated with Zarya module. Newman performed three spacewalks with Jerry Ross, totaling 21 hours, 22 minutes. The primary objective of the spacewalks was to connect external power and data umbilicals between Zarya and Unity. Other objectives include setting up the Early Communication antennas, deploying antennas on Zarya that had failed to deploy as expected, installing a sunshade to protect an external computer, installing translation aids, and attaching tools/hardware for use in future EVA’s. The crew also performed IMAX Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC) operations, and deployed two satellites, Mighty Sat 1, sponsored by the Air Force, and SAC-A, from Argentina. The mission was accomplished in 185 orbits of the Earth, traveling 4.6 million miles in 283 hours and 18 minutes.
STS-109 Columbia (March 1-12, 2002). STS-109 was the fourth Hubble Space Telescope (HST) servicing mission and the 108th flight of the Space Shuttle. The crew of STS-109 successfully upgraded the Hubble Space Telescope with new solar arrays, a new power control unit, and a new camera, and also installed a cooler to reactivate an old infrared camera. This work was accomplished during a total of five spacewalks in five consecutive days. Dr. Newman performed two spacewalks with crewmate Mike Massimino, totaling 14 hours and 46 minutes. During the first of these spacewalks, Newman and Massimino replaced an old solar array and a reaction wheel assembly with new units. During their second spacewalk they replaced the old Faint Object Camera with the state-of-the-art Advanced Camera for Surveys, producing a ten-fold increase in Hubble's imaging capability. STS-109 orbited the Earth 165 times, traveling 3.9 million miles in 262 hours and 10 mminutes.
AUGUST 2008
Selected by NASA in January 1990, Dr. Newman began a year of astronaut candidate training in July 1990 and became an astronaut in July 1991. His technical assignments since then include: Astronaut Office Mission Support Branch where he was part of a team responsible for crew ingress/strap-in prior to launch and crew egress after landing; Mission Development Branch working on the Shuttle on-board laptop computers; Chief of the Computer Support Branch in the Astronaut Office, responsible for crew involvement in the development and use of computers on the Space Shuttle and Space Station. A veteran of two space flights (STS-51 in 1993 and STS-69 in 1995), Newman has logged over 496 hours in space.
On his first flight, Newman was a mission specialist on STS-51, which launched on September 12, 1993. During the ten-day flight, the crew of five aboard the Shuttle Discovery deployed the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) and the Orbiting and Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer on the Shuttle Pallet Satellite (ORFEUS/SPAS). Newman was responsible for the operation of the SPAS, was the backup operator for the RMS, and on flight day five conducted a seven-hour spacewalk with Carl Walz. The extravehicular activity (EVA) tested tools and techniques for use on future missions. In addition to working with numerous secondary payloads and medical test objectives, the crew successfully tested a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver to determine real-time Shuttle positions and velocities and completed a test routing Orbiter data to on-board laptop computers. After 158 orbits of the Earth in 236 hours, 11 minutes, the mission concluded on September 22, 1993, with the first night landing at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Most recently, Newman was a mission specialist on STS-69 which launched on September 7, 1995. The crew successfully deployed and retrieved a SPARTAN satellite and the Wake Shield Facility (WSF). Also on board was the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker payload, numerous secondary payloads, and medical experiments. Newman was responsible for the crew's science involvement with the WSF and was also the primary RMS operator on the flight, performing the WSF and EVA RMS operations. He also operated the on-orbit tests of the Ku-band Communications Adaptor, the Relative GPS experiment, and the RMS Manipulator Positioning Display. Endeavour landed at the Kennedy Space Center on September 18, 1995 after 171 orbits of the Earth in 260 hours, 29 minutes.
The group was selected to provide pilot, engineer, and scientist astronauts for space shuttle flights.. Qualifications: Pilots: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Advanced degree desirable. At least 1,000 flight-hours of pilot-in-command time. Flight test experience desirable. Excellent health. Vision minimum 20/50 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 vision; maximum sitting blood pressure 140/90. Height between 163 and 193 cm.
Mission Specialists: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics and minimum three years of related experience or an advanced degree. Vision minimum 20/150 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20. Maximum sitting blood pressure of 140/90. Height between 150 and 193 cm.. Reported to the Johnson Space Center in late July 1990 to begin their year long training. Chosen from 1945 qualified applicants, then 106 finalists screened between September and November 1989.
Deployed and retrieved Orfeus-SPAS. During the EVA conducted tests in support of the Hubble Space Telescope first servicing mission and future EVAs, including Space Station assembly and maintenance. First night landing at KSC. Payloads: Advanced Communication Technology Sat-ellite (ACTS)/Transfer Orbit Stage (TOS), Orbiting Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer—Shuttle Pallet Satellite (ORFEUS-SPAS) with Remote IMAX Camera System (RICS), Limited Duration Space Environ-ment Candidate Materials Exposure (LDCE) (Beam Configuration C), Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG Block II), Chromosome and Plant Cell Division in Space (CHROMEX), High Resolution Shuttle Glow Spectroscopy-A (HRSGS-A), Auroral Photography Experiment-B (APE-B), Investigation into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP), Radiation Monitoring Equip-ment (RME-III), Air Force Maui Optical Site Cal-ibration Test (AMOS), IMAX In-Cabin Camera.
Deployed and retrieved Spartan 201, WSF 2. Payloads: Wake Shield Facility (WSF) 2; Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for As-tronomy (SPARTAN) 201; International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH)1; Inter-Mars Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (ITEPC); Extravehicular Activity Development Flight Test (EDFT) 2; Capillary Pumped Loop (CAPL) 2/ getaway special (GAS) bridge assembly with five GAS payloads; Auroral Photography Experiment (APE) B; Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC); Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA), Configuration A; Electrolysis Perfor-mance Improvement Concept Study (EPICS); Space Tissue Loss (STL)/National Institutes of Health (NIH) Cells (C); Commercial Middeck Instrumentation Technology Associates Experiment (CMIX).
With the first component of the International Space Station encapsulated in its nose fairing, a 180-foot long Russian Proton rocket was transported to its launch pad at dawn today at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan in preparation for liftoff Friday to begin assembly of the new complex. Additional Details: here....
Flight controllers in Moscow and Houston continue to monitor systems on the Zarya control module and briefed the STS-88 astronauts earlier today on its status on the eve of the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to carry the second component of the International Space Station to orbit. Additional Details: here....
The first International Space Station assembly mission was postponed for 24 hours when the brief 5-minute launch window ran out before flight controllers could fully analyze the cause of a master alarm that sounded inside the Space Shuttle Endeavour's crew cabin. Additional Details: here....
Endeavour's six astronauts wrapped up their first day in space a bit later than planned, at approximately 8:21 a.m. Central time today, when they began an abbreviated sleep period. Crew members were trouble-shooting a minor problem with the Orbiter Communications Adapter (OCA) system, which is used to transmit software files between the Space Shuttle and the flight controllers on the ground. A wake-up call from Mission Control is planned for 3:36 p.m. Central time, for the crew to begin their first full day of on-orbit activities. Additional Details: here....
STS-88 Commander Bob Cabana and his crew received their first wake up call from Mission Control this afternoon at 3:36 p.m. CST to begin their first full day of on orbit activities. The crew were awakened with the song "Get Ready" by the Temptations, an appropriate description of the full slate of activities the crew will be involved with as they get ready for the important events of the flight by checking out the equipment and tools that will be utilized during rendezvous, docking and space walking activities. Additional Details: here....
Five Americans and one Russian set off to begin building the International Space Station at 2:36 a.m. CST today, launching from Kennedy Space Center with the first American-built component of the station -- a connecting module named Unity -- in the Space Shuttle Endeavour's cargo bay. The shuttle's climb to orbit was flawless. Additional Details: here....
First attempted launch of STS-88 was scrubbed at 09:03 GMT on December 3 due to a problem with a hydraulic system sensor. Launch came the next day, with Endeavour entering an initial 75 km x 313 km x 51.6 degree orbit. Half an orbit after launch, at 09:19 GMT, Endeavour fired its OMS engines to raise the orbit to 180 km x 322 km x 51.6 degree.
On December 5 at 22:25 GMT Nancy Currie unberthed the Unity space station node from the payload bay using the RMS arm. She then moved the Unity to a position docked to the Orbiter Docking System in the payload bay in readiness for assembly with the Russian-launched Zarya FGB ISS component. After rendezvous with the Zarya FGB module, on December 6 at 23:47 GMT Endeavour grappled Zarya with the robot arm, and at 02:07 GMT on December 7 it was soft docked to the PMA-1 port on Unity. After some problems hard dock was achieved at 02:48 GMT. Unity and Zarya then formed the core of the future International Space Station. Ross and Newman made three space walks to connect cables between Zarya and Unity, on December 7, 9 and 12. On the last EVA a canvas tool bag was attached to the exterior of Unity to provide tools for future station assembly workers. Docking cables were disconnected to prevent Unity and Zarya from inadvertently undocking. Following an internal examination of the embryonic space station, Endeavour undocked at 20:30 GMT on December 13. The SAC-A and Mightysat satellites were ejected from the payload bay on December 14 and 15. Deorbit burn was December 16 at 03:48 GMT, and Endeavour landed at 04:53:29 GMT, on Runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center.
Payloads included:
Endeavour's crew awoke at 10:36 a.m. CST today to begin the orbital assembly of the International Space Station, uniting the first two station modules, Zarya and Unity. The astronauts were awakened to the sounds of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," requested by Commander Bob Cabana's daughter, Sarah. Additional Details: here....
Endeavour's astronauts continued the assembly of the International Space Station late Sunday, mating the Russian-built Zarya control module with the U.S.-built Unity connecting module in the shuttle's cargo bay following a flawless rendezvous and grapple of Zarya. Additional Details: here....
Following a wake-up call from Mission Control at 11:41 a.m. CST today, Endeavour's six astronauts began preparing for the first of three scheduled space walks. The wake-up song, "Jerry the Rigger," was in honor of Mission Specialist Jerry Ross, who with fellow Mission Specialist Jim Newman, will conduct more than 18 hours of space walks during this flight. Additional Details: here....
The first U.S. segment of the International Space Station came to life Monday night as the Unity module was activated for the first time. Activation followed the connection of electrical and data cables by Astronauts Jerry Ross and Jim Newman during a 7-hour, 21-minute space walk. Additional Details: here....
At the request of Commander Bob Cabana, Mission Control delayed Endeavour's wake-up call by one-half hour today, waking the crew at 12:06 p.m. CST, after the astronauts remained up past their scheduled sleep time to enjoy the view and relax following a very busy and successful day yesterday. The crew was awakened by Dwight Yokum's "Streets of Bakersfield," requested by the wife of Pilot Rick Sturckow, a California native. Additional Details: here....
After enjoying a half day of rest yesterday, Endeavour's crew was awakened at 10:36 a.m. Central time to begin preparations for a second spacewalk. The crew awoke to the tune "Floating in the Bathtub," selected for Mission Specialist Jim Newman by his wife, Mary Lee. Additional Details: here....
Endeavour's crew was awakened at 10:36 a.m. CST today to continue their work of preparing the International Space Station for future crews. "Trepak," a Russian dance from Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" ballet, was played as the wake-up music in honor of cosmonaut and Mission Specialist Sergei Krikalev. Additional Details: here....
Endeavour's six astronauts awoke at 10:41 a.m. CST today and are preparing for a historic day - entry into the International Space Station for the first time. The crew was awakened to Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA," played for Mission Specialist-2, Nancy Currie at the request of her husband, David. Additional Details: here....
Endeavour's astronauts opened the new International Space Station for business Thursday, entering the Unity and Zarya modules for the first time and establishing an S-band communications system that will enable U.S. flight controllers to monitor the outpost's systems. Additional Details: here....
For the first time ever, the new International Space Station Flight Control Room in Houston issued a wake-up call to orbiting astronauts. At 10:36 a.m. CST, space station communicator Astronaut Mike Fincke awoke Endeavour's crew with the song" Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight" as they prepare to say "goodnight" to the space station. Additional Details: here....
NASA's final Shuttle mission of 1998 came to an end this evening with the landing of Space Shuttle Endeavour at Kennedy Space Center. Following a 4.6 million mile journey, STS-88 Commander Bob Cabana guided the orbiter down onto runway 15 with landing gear touchdown occurring at 9:54 p.m. CST. Additional Details: here....
Endeavour's astronauts awoke to the sounds of Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" today, and are now preparing for a return trip to Earth. The wake-up call came at 11:36 a.m. CST, and was chosen by the flight control team to energize the six crew members in anticipation of tonight's landing in Florida, marking the 10th nighttime Shuttle landing in the program's history. Additional Details: here....
International Space Station flight controllers successfully completed two test firings of the Zarya module's two large thrusters this week, checking out the software and systems required for an automated rendezvous and docking with the third station module, scheduled to be launched from Russia in mid-1999. Additional Details: here....
The crew of Columbia was awakened for its first full day in space at 8:22 p.m. CST with the song "Blue Telescope" by John Hiatt. In its morning mail, the crew received news that mission managers are optimistic the full mission will go forward as planned in spite of low flow in a shuttle cooling line. Additional Details: here....
Hubble Servicing Mission 3B. STS-109 main engine cutoff came at 1130 UTC with Columbia in a 55 x 574 km x 28.5 deg transfer orbit. The OMS-2 burn at about 1207 UTC raised perigee to about 195 km. There was a problem with a freon cooling loop on the Orbiter, but it wasn't quite bad enough to affect the mission. The Hubble Space Telescope closed its aperture door on March 2 in preparation for the rendezvous. Columbia got within 100m of HST by 0852 UTC on March 3 and grappled it with the RMS at 0931 UTC. HST was berthed on the FSS in Columbia's payload bay by 1032 UTC.
In the course of five spacewalks, the crew installed new equipment on HST. This was the first flight of Columbia since the launch of Chandra in 1999 following refurbishment. In the first two spacewalks, two new solar arrays were installed, and the two old arrays stowed on the RAC carrier. The RWA-1R reaction wheel assembly on the MULE carrier replaced the faltering RWA-1 in the telescope. The third spacewalk was the most difficult, as HST was entirely powered down while astronauts replaced its power controller unit, not designed for on-orbit replacement. On the fourth spacewalk the astronauts removed the European FOC camera, aboard HST since launch in 1990, and replaced it with the new ACS (Advanced Camera for Surveys). They also installed the CASH wire harness, part of the aft shroud cooling system. On the final spacewalk, the astronauts installed the NCS (NICMOS cooling system) cryocooler in the aft shround and the associated NCS radiator on the telescope's exterior. The NICMOS infrared camera had been idle since its original thermal control system failed. With the removal of FOC, the COSTAR device (which deployed contact lenses for the original instruments) became obsolete, since the newer instruments made the corrections to the incorrect HST mirror internally. Cargo manifest:
The crew of the space shuttle Columbia awoke for its first spacewalking day in orbit to "Five Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," performed by Jeno Jando. It was played for John Grunsfeld. Spacewalkers Grunsfeld and Rick Linnehan will step out into space for the first time during this mission at about 12:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. Additional Details: here....
Rested and ready for another day of spacewalking, the crew of the space shuttle Columbia was awakened at 7:53 p.m. by the children's song "Floating in the Bathtub," by Tonya Evetts Weimer. It was played for Jim Newman who is to step out into space for the second spacewalk of this mission at about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday. Additional Details: here....
The Hubble Space Telescope received a new "heart" today during a 6 hour, 48 minute spacewalk by astronauts John Grunsfeld and Rick Linnehan. The two installed a new Power Control Unit (PCU), replacing the original unit launched with the telescope in April 1990. The PCU serves as Hubble's central power switching station by distributing electricity to all systems, scientific instruments and the Nickel Hydrogen batteries. Additional Details: here....
The crew of the space shuttle Columbia will give Hubble a way to open one of its slumbering eyes during the fifth and final scheduled spacewalk of this mission. An experimental cooling system will be installed on a camera that has been dormant since 1999 in hopes of bringing it back to life. Additional Details: here....
TThe crew of the space shuttle Columbia completed the last of its five ambitious spacewalks this morning with the successful installation of an experimental cooling system for Hubble's Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). The NICMOS has been dormant since January 1999 when its original coolant ran out. Additional Details: here....
After five days of successful spacewalks to rejuvenate the Hubble Space Telescope, the crew of Columbia will enjoy a Sunday off. The crew was awakened at 8:50 p.m. CST Saturday by "Fly Me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra. The song was played for Commander Scott "Scooter" Altman. Additional Details: here....
The space shuttle Columbia landed at Kennedy Space Center early Tuesday after a 10-day, 22-hour and 10-minute mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. Columbia astronauts conducted five successful spacewalks during their STS-109 mission to improve the orbiting observatory. Additional Details: here....