The Alumni Angle: NASA Missions Launch Engineer's Career
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James van Hoften 2nd from left, poses with the STS-41C crew.
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Dr. James "Ox" van Hoften (M.S. 1968, Ph.D. 1976) has many firsts to his credit. As a NASA astronaut, he was the first civil engineer to fly on a space shuttle, and as a mission specialist he performed the first repair-on-orbit of a satellite, as well as the first manual grapple and deployment of a satellite in orbit. STS-41C, his first mission in 1984, included two Extravehicular Activities (EVAs or Spacewalks) by astronauts van Hoften and Nelson, who retrieved the Solar Maximum satellite, repaired it onboard the Challenger, and replaced it in orbit. To accomplish their tasks, the astronauts flight-tested the manned maneuvering units while attached to the Remote Manipulator System (RMS). During the STS-51I Discovery mission in 1985, Dr. van Hoften was again involved in two EVAs and used the RMS to grapple and deploy a satellite.
Dr. van Hoften took an indirect route to NASA, one that involved both military and academic service. After earning his Master's degree in hydraulic engineering from Colorado State, he served as a pilot in the United States Navy, flying F-4 Phantoms from the Miramar Naval Air Station and participating in two cruises to Southeast Asia, including 66 combat missions in Vietnam. He returned to Colorado State for his Ph.D. degree and then accepted a position as assistant professor of civil engineering at the University of Houston. While at Houston, Dr. van Hoften was excited to learn he had been selected as an astronaut candidate; he joined NASA's training program and has never looked back. He says his engineering education and love of flying and adventure made the choice easy.
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Today, Dr. van Hoften is a Senior Vice President and partner at the Bechtel Corporation, a global engineering, construction and project management company. While at Bechtel he has managed the engineering and construction business for the defense and space markets, served as project manager for the Hong Kong International Airport, and is currently Managing Director of Bechtel's Aviation business located in London.
When he's not traveling around the world, Dr. van Hoften enjoys spending time with his wife and their three children, playing golf and skiing.