NAME:  James S. Voss (Lieutenant Colonel, USA)
       NASA Astronaut
 
BIRTHPLACE AND DATE:  Born March 3, 1949, in Cordova, Alabama, but considers
Opelika, Alabama, to be his hometown.
 
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:  Brown hair; blue eyes; 5 feet 8 inches; 155 pounds.
 
EDUCATION:  Graduated from Opelika High School, Opelika, Alabama; received a
bachelor of science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Auburn University in
1972, and a master of science degree in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from the
University of Colorado in 1974.
 
MARITAL STATUS:  Married to the former Suzan Curry of Birmingham, Alabama.  Her
mother, Elizabeth Jacks, resides in Birmingham.
 
CHILDREN:  Daughter, Kristie, November 12, 1979.
 
RECREATIONAL INTERESTS:  He enjoys flying, woodworking, skiing, softball,
racquetball, scuba diving, and homebuilding airplanes.  As an undergraduate, he
participated on the Auburn University Wrestling Team.
 
SPECIAL HONORS:  Received the Defense Superior Service Medal (1992), the
Outstanding Student Award, USN Test Pilot School (1983); the William P.
Clements, Jr. Award for Excellence in Education as the outstanding Professor at
the U.S. Military Academy (1982); Meritorious Service Medal (1982); awarded a
NASA Summer Faculty Research Fellowship (1980); Commandant's List -- Infantry
Officer Advanced Course (1979); Army Commendation Medal (1978); Honor Graduate
and Leadership Award -- Ranger School (1975); Distinguished Graduate --
Infantry Officer Basic Course (1974).
 
EXPERIENCE:  Upon graduation from Auburn and commissioning as a 2nd Lieutenant,
Voss went directly to the University of Colorado to obtain his masters degree
under the Army Graduate Fellowship Program.  After attending the Infantry Basic
Course, Airborne and Ranger schools, he served with the 2nd Battalion 48th
Infantry in Germany as a platoon leader, intelligence staff officer, and
company commander.  On returning to the United States, he attended the Infantry
Officer Advanced Course, then taught for three years in the Department of
Mechanics at the U.S. Military Academy.  After attending the U.S. Naval Test
Pilot School and the Armed Forces Staff College, Voss was assigned to the U.S.
Army Aviation Engineering Flight Activity as a Flight Test Engineer/Research &
Development Coordinator.  He was involved in four major flight test projects
before being detailed to NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
 
NASA EXPERIENCE: Voss has been working at Johnson Space Center since November
1984.  In his capacity as a Vehicle Integration Test Engineer, he supported
Shuttle and payload testing at the Kennedy Space Center for STS 51-D, 51-F,
61-C and 51-L.  He participated in the STS 51-L accident investigation, and
supported the resulting reviews dedicated to returning the Space Shuttle safely
to flight.  Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in June 1987, Voss
completed a one year training and evaluation program in August 1988, which
qualified him for assignment as a mission specialist on Space Shuttle flights.
From May 1988 until July 1989 he worked as a flight crew representative in the
area of Shuttle safety, and, more recently, as a CAPCOM, providing a
communications interface between ground controllers and flight crews during
simulations and Shuttle flights.
 
Voss was a mission specialist on STS-44 aboard Atlantis which launched the
night of November 24, 1991.  The primary mission objective was accomplished
with the successful deployment of a Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite
with an Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) rocket booster.  In addition, the crew also
conducted two Military Man in Space experiments, three radiation monitoring
experiments, and numerous medical tests to support longer duration Shuttle
flights.  The mission was concluded after 110 orbits of the Earth with Atlantis
returning to a landing on the lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on
December 1, 1991.  With the completion of his first mission Voss has logged
over 166 hours in space.
 
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:  LTC Voss will serve as a mission specialist on the crew of
STS-53, scheduled for launch in late 1992.
 
JANUARY 1992