Jim has done a few things in his life which he considers major accomplishments.
#1 – The biggest?
Outside view of cupola on Space Station
NASA had built an element for Space Station called the Cupola. it had six trapezoid-shaped windows around the perimeter and a large 20-inch round window at one end (top in the photo). The intent was to provide a view of the Earth from inside the Station.
It managed to survive cancellation a few times with budget problems, but was finally designated for launch to Station. It was to be attached to the module known as Tranquility at the bottom of Station.
But there was a problem as he saw it.
Aft view of Japanese Experiment Module
Due to maintenance concerns, the cupola was to be placed on the side of Tranquility, not the bottom. In this position the primary view would be of the Japanese Experiment Module, not of the Earth.
Now this is a beautiful module, but he figured the crews would get tired of seeing the same thing all the time. They would much more enjoy watching changing views of the Earth as Station passed over various areas of our planet.
So he talked to program management and insisted that the cupola be placed to face the Earth. (Since he was a support engineer in the Astronaut Office, his efforts carried some weight.) Management reconsidered the situation and decided the maintenance concern was not likely to be a problem. They made the change, with the result the Astronauts could view the Earth.
Cold front passing over the US
He heard many comments while still at NASA about how the astronauts appreciated having those views.
He has copies of other photos taken from the cupola. Some of these will be posted in a slide show later.
Beyond that, he recently saw a report from an astronaut in orbit who was very impressed by looking out a cupola window at the aurora.