Science & invention / Military
Brent W. Jett Jr.
born 1958 · astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot
Four-time Space Shuttle astronaut and Navy test pilot, born in Pontiac, Michigan.
- Born
Pontiac, Michigan
age 67- Birth name
- Brent Ward Jett Jr.
- Also known as
- Brent Jett
- Field
- Science & invention, Military
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Jett was born in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1958, but he considers Fort Lauderdale, Florida, his hometown. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in aerospace engineering in 1981, earned a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School and flew F-14 Tomcats from the carrier USS Saratoga before training as a test pilot. NASA selected him as an astronaut in 1992. He flew four Space Shuttle missions: as pilot of Endeavour on STS-72 in 1996 and of Atlantis on STS-81 in 1997, which docked with the Russian station Mir, and as commander of Endeavour on STS-97 in 2000 and of Atlantis on STS-115 in 2006, both of which delivered solar arrays and truss sections to the International Space Station.
Highlights
- Flew four Space Shuttle missions (STS-72, STS-81, STS-97, STS-115)
- Commanded STS-97 (2000) and STS-115 (2006) to the International Space Station
- U.S. Naval Academy graduate, 1981; F-14 Tomcat pilot
- Born in Pontiac, Michigan, 1958