Thomas Jones: Former Astronaut, Author, and Space Scientist

Three-time space-walker Tom Jones joined the NASA astronaut corps in 1990, and his four shuttle flights put him at the center of cutting-edge orbital research and the planning and building of the Space Station. His crew flew the longest shuttle mission ever, aboard orbiter Columbia, and he describes its tragic demise in 2003 with special poignancy. Jones takes his audience on an inside-the-spacesuit voyage into the cosmos, beginning with the pressure cooker of astronaut training, through the rush of an astronauts first launch, the thrill of spacewalks 200 miles above a luminous Earth, to possible future landings on the dusty surfaces of the asteroids, Moon, and Mars.
In his Sky Walking talk, Jones discusses in clear terms the most advanced technology of our time, but at the core of this talk are the people the astronauts and their families — who ride those fragile ships into space. Tom Jones is a veteran astronaut with a critical eye on our uncertain future in space: where will we go, what will we do there, and most important, do we still have the will to be leaders on the final frontier?
Thomas D. Jones, PhD is a veteran NASA astronaut, scientist, speaker, author, and consultant. He holds a doctorate in planetary sciences, and in more than eleven years with NASA, flew on four space shuttle missions to Earth orbit. In 2001, Dr. Jones led three spacewalks to install the centerpiece of the International Space Station, the American Destiny laboratory. He has been privileged to spend fifty-three days working and living in space.
Tom is a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He piloted B-52D strategic bombers, studied asteroids for NASA, engineered intelligence-gathering systems for the CIA, and helped develop advanced mission concepts to explore the solar system prior to joining NASAs astronaut corps.
Tom writes frequently about space exploration and aviation history in magazines such as Air and Space Smithsonian, Aerospace America, and Popular Mechanics. Toms current book is Sky Walking: An Astronauts Memoir, published in 2006 by Smithsonian Books-Collins. The Wall Street Journal selected Sky Walking as one of its Five Best books about space. Toms newest title, Hell Hawks!, a true story of an aerial band of brothers in WWII, will be published by Zenith Press in May 2008.
Dr. Jones awards include the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, four NASA Space Flight Medals, the NASA Exceptional Service Award, the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, Phi Beta Kappa, and the Air Force Commendation Medal.
Tom is a member of the NASA Advisory Council, serves on the board of the Association of Space Explorers, and is a regular on-air contributor for Fox News Channels spaceflight coverage

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