Jack R. Lousma

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Jack R. Lousma : biography

February 29, 1936 –

STS-3, the third orbital test flight of Space Shuttle Columbia, launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on March 22, 1982, into a 180-mile circular orbit above the earth. Lousma was the spacecraft commander and C. Gordon Fullerton was the pilot on this eight-day mission. Major flight test objectives included exposing the Columbia to extremes in thermal stress and the first use of the 50-foot Remote Manipulator System (RMS) to grapple and maneuver a Payload in space. The crew also operated several scientific experiments in the orbiter’s cabin and on the OSS-1 pallet in the payload bay. Space Shuttle Columbia responded favorably to the thermal tests and was found to be better than expected as a scientific platform. The crew accomplished almost 100 percent of the objectives assigned to STS-3, and after a one-day delay due to bad weather, landed on the lakebed at White Sands, New Mexico, on March 30, 1982, the only shuttle flight to land at White Sands. Columbia traveled 3.4 million miles during 129.9 orbits of the earth and mission duration was 192 hours, 4 minutes, 49 seconds.

Special honors

Awarded the Johnson Space Center Certificate of Commendation (1970); the NASA Distinguished Service Medal (1973); presented the Navy Distinguished Service Medal and Navy Astronaut Wings (1974), the City of Chicago Gold Medal (1974), the Robert J. Collier Trophy for 1973, the Marine Corps Aviation Association’s Exceptional Achievement Award (1974), the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale’s V.M. Komarov Diploma for 1973, the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy for 1975, the AIAA Octave Chanute Award for 1975, the AAS Flight Achievement Award for 1974; inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame (1982); a second NASA Distinguished Service Medal (1982), the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal (1982), NCAA Silver Anniversary Award (1983); and inducted into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame (1988).

Personal Info

Lousma was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is of Frisian decent. Lousma and Gratia Kay were married in 1956. They have four children, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Organizations

He is a fellow of the American Astronautical Society; member of the Society of the Sigma Xi, the University of Michigan "M" Club, the Officers’ Christian Fellowship, and the Association of Space Explorers.