NAME:  Jay Apt (Ph.D.)
        NASA Astronaut
 
BIRTHPLACE AND DATE:  Born April 28, 1949, in Springfield, Massachusetts, but
considers Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to be his hometown.  His parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Jerome Apt, Jr., reside in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
 
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:  Brown hair; brown eyes; 5 feet 6-1/2 inches; 145 pounds.
 
EDUCATION:  Graduated from Shady Side Academy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in
1967; received a bachelor of arts degree in Physics (magna cum laude) from
Harvard College in 1971, and a doctorate in physics from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1976.
 
MARITAL STATUS:  Married to the former Eleanor B. Emmons.  Ms. Emmons-Apt, a
psychotherapist, formerly a resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the
daughter of Judith Reed Emmons and the late A. Bradlee Emmons.
 
CHILDREN:  Sarah Bradlee Apt, July 19, 1988; Rachel Caroline Apt, December 11,
1991.
 
RECREATIONAL INTERESTS:  He enjoys flying, scuba diving, camping,
photography, model rocketry, and amateur radio.
 
ORGANIZATIONS:  Member of the American Astronomical Society (Division of
Planetary Science), the American Geophysical Union, the American Physical
Society, and Sigma Xi.
 
EXPERIENCE:  In 1976, Dr. Apt was a post-doctoral fellow in laser
spectroscopy at MIT.  From 1976 to 1980 he was a staff member of the Center for
Earth and Planetary Physics, Harvard University, supporting NASA's Pioneer
Venus Mission by making temperature maps of Venus from Mt. Hopkins
Observatory.  Results of his research have been published in over 20 papers in
professional journals.  Dr. Apt served as the Assistant Director of Harvard's
Division of Applied Sciences from 1978 to 1980.
 
NASA EXPERIENCE:  In 1980 Dr. Apt joined the Earth and Space Sciences Division
of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, doing planetary research, studying Venus,
Mars, and the outer solar system.  In 1981 he became Science Manager of JPL's
Table Mountain Observatory.  From 1982 through 1985, he was a flight controller
responsible for Shuttle payload operations at NASA's Johnson Space Center.
 
Dr. Apt is an instrument rated commercial pilot, and has logged over 2,500
hours flying time in approximately 25 different types of airplanes, sailplanes,
and man-powered aircraft.
 
He was selected as an astronaut by NASA in June 1985.  His assignments to date
have included Shuttle Orbiter modification support at Kennedy Space Center,
developing techniques for servicing the Hubble Space Telescope and the Gamma
Ray Observatory, and development of EVA construction and maintenance techniques
for Space Station.
 
Apt flew as a mission specialist on the crew of the space Shuttle Atlantis on
the STS-37 mission, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on April
5, 1991.  During the mission the crew deployed the Gamma Ray Observatory to
study the universe by observing the most energetic form of radiation.  Apt and
crewmate Jerry Ross performed an unscheduled space walk during which they
manually deployed the observatory's large radio antenna, when remotely
controlled motors failed to do so.  On the next day, they conducted the first
scheduled space walk in 5 1/2 years.  They tested concepts for getting around
on large space structures and gathered basic engineering data on the forces a
crew member can exert on bolts and equipment.  The crew also conducted research
on biologically important molecules, tested concepts for radiating heat from
Space Station, operated an amateur radio station, and took over 4000
photographs of the Earth.  After completing 93 orbits of the Earth, the crew
landed Atlantis at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on April 11, 1991.
 
With the completion of this flight, Dr. Apt has logged a total of 143 hours in
space, including 10 hours and 49 minutes on two space walks.
 
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:  Dr. Apt is assigned as a mission specialist on the crew of
STS-47, Spacelab-J, scheduled for launch in September 1992. This seven-day
cooperative mission between the United States and Japan will focus on life
science and materials processing experiments in space.
 
MAY 1992