James Shelton Voss - Opelika, Alabama native James Shelton Voss earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aerospace Engineering from Auburn University before receiving a Master of Science Degree in Aerospace Engineering Sciences and Doctorate Degree from the University of Colorado. Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army, Voss completed the Airborne and Ranger training schools and served as an instructor in the Department of Mechanics at the United States Military Academy. After completing the United States Naval Test Pilot School, Voss served as a Flight Test Engineer / Research and Development Coordinator at the U.S. Army Aviation Engineering Flight Activity. During his military career, Voss achieved the rank of Colonel.
Voss joined NASA in November 1984 as a Vehicle Integration Test Engineer supporting Space Shuttle operations at the Kennedy Space Center. Selected as an astronaut candidate in June 1987, Voss completed a one-year training and evaluation program that qualified him for assignment as a mission specialist. During his NASA career, Voss completed five missions aboard the Space Shuttle and served as a member of the crew of Expedition 2 during a 163-day mission aboard the international Space Station, logging 202 days in space and completing four space walks totaling 22 hours and 35 minutes of extra-vehicular activity. Voss also served as a member of the back-up crew for the Russian space station Mir. He has logged more than 5,000 hours in various aerial vehicles including turbojets, helicopters, rockets and a general aviation aircraft he built himself.
James Shelton Voss was inducted into the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame at the Southern Museum of Flight on the 26th of March 2011
