 jerry lynn ross (january 20, 1948, crown point, indiana) is a united states air force officer, retired, and a former nasa astronaut. he is a veteran of seven space shuttle missions, making him a record holder for most spaceflights (a record he shares with franklin chang-diaz). his papers, photographs and many personal items are in the barron hilton flight and space exploration archives at purdue university. he was inducted into the astronaut hall of fame during ceremonies in may of 2014. ross is the author of spacewalker: my journey in space and faith as nasa's record-setting frequent flyer (purdue university press, 2013) with john norberg. in march of 2014 it was announced "spacewalker" will be available in a french translation through the specialist aerospace publisher altipresse. fellow astronaut chris hadfield describes ross in his autobiography, an astronaut's guide to life on earth, as "the embodiment of the trustworthy, loyal, courteous and brave astronaut archetype." ==education== ross graduated from crown point high school, crown point, indiana, in 1966. he received bachelor of science and master of science degrees in mechanical engineering from purdue university in 1970 and 1972, respectively. ==military career== ross, an air force rotc student at purdue university, received his commission upon graduation in 1970. after receiving his master's degree from purdue in 1972, he entered active duty with the air force and was assigned to the ramjet engine division of air force aero-propulsion laboratory at wright-patterson air force base, ohio. he conducted computer-aided design studies on [[
1948_births American_astronauts American_aviators Aviators_from_Indiana Living_people NASA_civilian_astronauts People_from_Crown_Point,_Indiana Purdue_University_alumni Recipients_of_the_Defense_Superior_Service_Medal Recipients_of_the_Legion_of_Merit U.S._Air_Force_Test_Pilot_School_alumni United_States_Air_Force_astronauts United_States_Air_Force_officers United_States_Astronaut_Hall_of_Fame_inductees