posted 02-07-2012 11:10 AM               

NASA astronaut Janice Voss dies, flew on five space shuttle missions

Astronaut Janice Voss, a veteran of five spaceflights and a former science director for a NASA exoplanet-hunting spacecraft, has died after a battle with cancer. She was 55.

"Just got the very sad news that U.S. astronaut Janice Voss passed away last night," the Association of Space Explorers, an international organization representing more than 350 individuals who have flown in space, wrote on Facebook. "Our thoughts go out to her family and friends."

NASA confirmed Voss' death in a statement released on Tuesday (Feb. 7), saying she had passed away overnight.

Chosen by NASA for the astronaut corps in January 1990, Voss served as a mission specialist on five space shuttle missions, including the only repeat flight in the program's 30 year history. She flew with the first commercial lab, rendezvoused with Russia's Mir space station and helped create the most complete digital topographic map of the Earth.

NASA statement

Astronaut Janice Voss Dies

NASA astronaut Janice Voss passed away from cancer overnight after a courageous battle. One of only six women who have flown in space five times, Voss' career was highlighted by her work and dedication to scientific payloads and exploration.

"As the payload commander of two space shuttle missions, Janice was responsible for paving the way for experiments that we now perform on a daily basis on the International Space Station," said Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office. "By improving the way scientists are able to analyze their data, and establishing the experimental methods and hardware necessary to perform these unique experiments, Janice and her crew ensured that our space station would be the site of discoveries that we haven't even imagined."

"During the last few years, Janice continued to lead our office's efforts to provide the best possible procedures to crews operating experiments on the station today," Whitson added. "Even more than Janice's professional contributions, we will miss her positive outlook on the world and her determination to make all things better."

Voss began her career with NASA in 1973 while a student at Purdue University. She returned to NASA in 1977 to work as an instructor, teaching entry guidance and navigation to space shuttle crews. After completing her doctorate in 1987, she worked within the aerospace industry until she was selected as an astronaut in 1990.

Voss' first spaceflight mission was STS-57 in 1993, the first flight of the Spacehab module. She next flew on STS-63 in 1995, a mission to the Mir space station, and third flight of Spacehab. She also flew as a payload commander on STS-83 in 1997 with the Microgravity Science Laboratory, but the mission was cut short due to problems with one of the orbiter's three fuel power generation units. Voss, the crew and MSL flew again as the STS-94 MSL-1 Spacelab mission, focused on materials and combustion science research in microgravity.

Her last mission was STS-99 in 2000, a flight to the International Space Station as part of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission which mapped more than 47 million square miles of the Earth's land surface. In total, Voss spent more than 49 days in space.

From 2004 to 2007, Voss served as the science director for the Kepler spacecraft at NASA's Ames Research Center. Voss most recently served as the payloads lead of the Astronaut Office's Station Branch.