JEFFREY S. ASHBY (CAPTAIN, USN, RET.)

NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)

PERSONAL DATA: Raised in the Rocky Mountains where he developed a love for 

skiing, soaring, and climbing. 

EDUCATION: Graduated from Evergreen High School, Evergreen, Colorado in 1972; 

received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of 

Idaho in 1976, and a Master of Science degree in Aviation Systems from the University 

of Tennessee in 1993. Ashby is a graduate of the Naval Test Pilot School and the Naval 

Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun). 

SPECIAL HONORS: Recipient of the Defense Superior Service Medal; Legion of 

Merit; Distinguished Flying Cross; Defense Meritorious Service Medal; Meritorious 

Service Medal; four Navy Air Medals; two Navy Commendation Medals; Navy 

Achievement Medal; Navy Attack Aviator of the Year 1991; NASA Outstanding 

Leadership Medal; NASA Exceptional Service Medal; and three NASA Space Flight 

Medals.

EXPERIENCE: In his 25-year Navy career, Ashby accumulated over 7000 flight hours and 1000 aircraft carrier landings 

during 6 aircraft carrier deployments. As a test pilot, he directed testing of the FA-18 Hornet’s smart weapons, night vision, and 

electronic warfare systems. Ashby logged 65 combat missions in the FA-18 during Operations Desert Storm and Southern Watch 

in Iraq, and Operation Continue Hope in Somalia before serving as the Commanding Officer of Strike Fighter Squadron 94 

aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln - under his leadership, VFA-94 earned the coveted Battle "E" Award designating it as the 

Navy's top FA-18 squadron in 1994. 

He reported to the Johnson Space Center for astronaut duties in 1995, completing three space missions, with 436 orbits around 

the Earth and over 660 hours in zero G. 

After a 4-year special assignment to the Headquarters, Air Force Space Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Ashby joined 

Alliant Tech Systems (ATK) Space Systems Group in 2008 as the Vice President of Business Development.

Since 2010, Ashby has worked as the Chief of Mission Assurance for Blue Origin, a company that aspires to safe and affordable

space launch so that millions of people may one day live and work in space.

SPACE FLIGHTS: STS-93 In 1999, Ashby was the pilot on Space Shuttle Columbia, for a mission that deployed the Chandra 

X-ray Observatory. Measuring 45 feet long, Chandra was the largest payload ever carried by Space Shuttle. It remains the most 

sophisticated x-ray observatory ever built, allowing scientists to study exotic phenomena such as exploding stars, quasars, and 

black holes. 

STS-100 In 2001, he piloted Space Shuttle Endeavour on the 6th assembly flight of the International Space Station. During this 

complex mission, Ashby operated the shuttle’s robotic arm to install and activate Canadarm2 on the space station, enabling 

continued assembly of the orbiting outpost. After undocking Endeavour, he flew a unique profile around the station to capture 

some of the images seen in the IMAX-3D film "The International Space Station". 

STS-112 In 2002, Ashby was the mission commander of Space Shuttle Atlantis on the 9th assembly flight of the International 

Space Station. The crew installed the 15-ton Integrated Truss Segment S1 to the starboard side of the space station. Three space 

walks were performed to activate the truss, an essential segment of the solar array backbone. 

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

January 2018

Biographical Data

 Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

 Houston, Texas 77058