Jim Wetherbee

With thirty-five years of experience in high-hazard operational environments, Jim is passionate about helping leaders and operators in dangerous endeavors with critical mission objectives. He is the only astronaut to have commanded five missions in space (tied with one Russian cosmonaut), and the only person to have landed the Space Shuttle five times.

Jim began his career as a Naval Aviator aboard the USS John F Kennedy, flying the A-7 Corsair. In his second tour, he was a test pilot in the F/A-18 Hornet. Jim has logged 345 arrested landings aboard aircraft carriers, and he has flown 20 different types of air and space vehicles throughout his career.

In 1984, Jim was selected to join NASA in its tenth group of astronauts. Over his twenty-year career, he flew six times on the Space Shuttle. The five-time commander flew two missions to the Russian Space Station, Mir, and two missions to the International Space Station. In 1998, he was appointed as director, Flight Crew Operations, specifically selected to improve the flight and ground safety in the astronaut corps.

Bringing his experience from the aerospace industry as a former NASA executive and astronaut, Jim joined the oil and gas Industry as a Safety and Operations Auditor for BP Corporation North America, Inc. As the VP, Operating Leadership, Jim helped to improve operating results consistently over the long-term, by emphasizing effective leadership behaviors to inspire people to perform with operating excellence.

Jim is the author of Controlling Risk--In a Dangerous World. Currently, he operates Jim Wetherbee LLC while advising, and learning from, companies involved in hazardous operations.

EDUCATION:
Bachelor of Science, Aerospace Engineering, University of Notre Dame, 1974;
Graduate, US Navy Test Pilot School, 1981.

ORGANIZATIONS:
Lifetime Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (from Dec. 1983);
Honorary Member, Musicians' Union, Local 47, American Federation of Musicians, Los Angeles, CA;
US Astronaut Hall of Fame (inducted 2010);
Inducted in the Long Island Air and Space Hall of Fame (2014), Cradle of Aviation Museum;
Inducted as a member in The Golden Eagles (2019), Naval Aviation Association.

HONORS:
US Navy: Two Defense Superior Service Medals; Distinguished Flying Cross; Two Defense Meritorious Service Medals; Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal; Two National Defense Service Medals; Navy Achievement Medal; Two Meritorious Unit Commendations.
NASA: Four Distinguished Service Medals; Six Space Flight Medals; Two Outstanding Leadership Medals; Flight Achievement Award, American Astronautical Society, 1995 (STS-63); Flight Achievement Award, American Astronautical Society, 1998 (STS-86).