Jim has done some 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.
(I’d like to specifically thank astronauts Don Pettit and Koichi Wakata for providing at my request the photos below credited to them. Other photos came from a variety of sources.)
Wakata: Aft view of Japanese Experiment Module
Due to possible 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 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 and frequently represented the Office in meetings, 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.
This change gave them the beautiful views like that to the right below.
Cold front passing over the US
He heard many comments while still at NASA, and others from reports since leaving, about how astronauts appreciated those views.
He is setting up a slide show to view some of the pictures he has.
