Former astronaut to be inducted into hall of fame
Dr. Janet Kevandi
March 20, 2019
Vinnie Roberts
Former astronaut Dr. Janet Kavandi has had a big life. In addition to three space flights over her career and an equally impressive list of managerial credits within NASA, Dr. Kavandi is about to be awarded with one of NASA’s highest honors: induction into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. While most of these things are a matter of public record, one thing that tends to go unmentioned in her story is her original home: Cassville, Missouri. The seat of Barry County.
Dr. Kavandi’s big life began in Springfield, where she was born to parents Bill and Ruth Sellers. The Sellers family lived on a farm just outside of Cassville. According to Kavandi, the time spent growing up under the unpolluted night skies of Barry County were a key component to her dreams of becoming an astronaut.
“We had a house outside of town where we raised cattle,” said Dr. Kavandi. “I really loved growing up there. I liked being in the country. I liked looking up at the night sky there, which is part of what I think contributed to me wanting to be in the astronaut program. The stars in the sky there are so much more vibrant than the skies in bigger cities. I grew up seeing that and wondering what it would be like to go up there.”
Due to tragedy in the family, Dr. Kavandi eventually found herself exiting Barry County and living in Carthage at the age of eight. She would go on to graduate from Carthage High School before achieving her undergraduate degree from Missouri Southern State University in Joplin. From there, she went on to acquire her Master’s degree from the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla.
For a time, Kavandi worked for a company called Eagle-Picher technologies where, according to the Carthage Hall of Heroes in which Dr. Kavandi features, she used her various chemistry degrees to assist in the creation of new batteries for national defense purposes.
It was at this point in her career that she was approached by Boeing Aerospace Co., who offered her a position and agreed to fund her pursuit of a PhD if she would relocate to Seattle. Dr. Kavandi, along with her husband, moved to Seattle, where she earned her doctorate from the University of Washington-Seattle.
“It was always my dream to apply to the astronaut program,” said Dr. Kavandi. “That was part of me getting my PhD. All my life I just wanted to find a way to get in to the astronaut corps. I really never thought that I could do it. I did everything that I could to give me the best shot. I got the best education, and took the best positions I could.”
Doctorate in hand and stars on the horizon, Dr. Kavandi applied to be in NASA’s Astronaut Corps. Kavandi was selected for the program after her first interview and, in 1995, relocated to Houston to begin her training.
“I actually got in, which never ceases to amaze me,” said Kavandi. “I got to fly very quickly, which was very unusual.”
During her time at NASA, Dr. Kavandi logged 33 days in space, with a total of 535 orbits around the planet.
Dr. Kavandi’s first mission in space was STS-91 (STS, Space Transport System) where she served as a mission specialist. The purpose of this mission was to transport materials to what would become a precursor to the International Space Station.
Dr. Kavandi’s second spaceflight, STS-99, saw Dr. Kavandi and crew using three-dimensional mapping technology to build a topographical map of over 47 million miles of the Earth’s land surface.
Her final mission was aboard STS-104, which saw Dr. Kavandi and her team add an airlock to the International Space Station in 2001.
After her final flight in 2001, Dr. Kavandi continued to work with NASA. According to Dr. Kavandi, after the disaster of the Columbia Space Shuttle, she worked on the team that investigated the crash and worked with the families of the crew.
Kavandi then went on to a variety of leadership roles at various facilities within NASA before being selected as the Deputy Director of the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Within a year’s time, Dr. Kavandi was made director of the facility, a position which she still holds today.
In addition to her induction into the Hall of Fame, Kavandi has received numerous awards throughout her career. These include: Outstanding Alumnus of 1996 at MSSU, three Space Flight Medals for shuttle flights STS-91, STS-99 and STS-104, two NASA Exceptional Service Medals, two NASA Outstanding Leadership Medals and the prestigious Presidential Rank Award.
Dr. Kavandi will be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 6. She will be one of 99 other astronauts to receive the honor. The ceremony will take place at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.
“To be nominated to be in the hall of fame, it’s like you’re one of the elite of the astronauts, who already an elite class, in my opinion,” said Dr. Kavandi. “It seems impossible. To be nominated to be in the top of that is really, really special. It’s beyond my wildest dreams and expectations. I’m very honored.”
Vinnie Roberts
Former astronaut Dr. Janet Kavandi has had a big life. In addition to three space flights over her career and an equally impressive list of managerial credits within NASA, Dr. Kavandi is about to be awarded with one of NASA’s highest honors: induction into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. While most of these things are a matter of public record, one thing that tends to go unmentioned in her story is her original home: Cassville, Missouri. The seat of Barry County.
Dr. Kavandi’s big life began in Springfield, where she was born to parents Bill and Ruth Sellers. The Sellers family lived on a farm just outside of Cassville. According to Kavandi, the time spent growing up under the unpolluted night skies of Barry County were a key component to her dreams of becoming an astronaut.
“We had a house outside of town where we raised cattle,” said Dr. Kavandi. “I really loved growing up there. I liked being in the country. I liked looking up at the night sky there, which is part of what I think contributed to me wanting to be in the astronaut program. The stars in the sky there are so much more vibrant than the skies in bigger cities. I grew up seeing that and wondering what it would be like to go up there.”
Due to tragedy in the family, Dr. Kavandi eventually found herself exiting Barry County and living in Carthage at the age of eight. She would go on to graduate from Carthage High School before achieving her undergraduate degree from Missouri Southern State University in Joplin. From there, she went on to acquire her Master’s degree from the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla.
For a time, Kavandi worked for a company called Eagle-Picher technologies where, according to the Carthage Hall of Heroes in which Dr. Kavandi features, she used her various chemistry degrees to assist in the creation of new batteries for national defense purposes.
It was at this point in her career that she was approached by Boeing Aerospace Co., who offered her a position and agreed to fund her pursuit of a PhD if she would relocate to Seattle. Dr. Kavandi, along with her husband, moved to Seattle, where she earned her doctorate from the University of Washington-Seattle.
“It was always my dream to apply to the astronaut program,” said Dr. Kavandi. “That was part of me getting my PhD. All my life I just wanted to find a way to get in to the astronaut corps. I really never thought that I could do it. I did everything that I could to give me the best shot. I got the best education, and took the best positions I could.”
Doctorate in hand and stars on the horizon, Dr. Kavandi applied to be in NASA’s Astronaut Corps. Kavandi was selected for the program after her first interview and, in 1995, relocated to Houston to begin her training.
“I actually got in, which never ceases to amaze me,” said Kavandi. “I got to fly very quickly, which was very unusual.”
During her time at NASA, Dr. Kavandi logged 33 days in space, with a total of 535 orbits around the planet.
Dr. Kavandi’s first mission in space was STS-91 (STS, Space Transport System) where she served as a mission specialist. The purpose of this mission was to transport materials to what would become a precursor to the International Space Station.
Dr. Kavandi’s second spaceflight, STS-99, saw Dr. Kavandi and crew using three-dimensional mapping technology to build a topographical map of over 47 million miles of the Earth’s land surface.
Her final mission was aboard STS-104, which saw Dr. Kavandi and her team add an airlock to the International Space Station in 2001.
After her final flight in 2001, Dr. Kavandi continued to work with NASA. According to Dr. Kavandi, after the disaster of the Columbia Space Shuttle, she worked on the team that investigated the crash and worked with the families of the crew.
Kavandi then went on to a variety of leadership roles at various facilities within NASA before being selected as the Deputy Director of the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Within a year’s time, Dr. Kavandi was made director of the facility, a position which she still holds today.
In addition to her induction into the Hall of Fame, Kavandi has received numerous awards throughout her career. These include: Outstanding Alumnus of 1996 at MSSU, three Space Flight Medals for shuttle flights STS-91, STS-99 and STS-104, two NASA Exceptional Service Medals, two NASA Outstanding Leadership Medals and the prestigious Presidential Rank Award.
Dr. Kavandi will be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 6. She will be one of 99 other astronauts to receive the honor. The ceremony will take place at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.
“To be nominated to be in the hall of fame, it’s like you’re one of the elite of the astronauts, who already an elite class, in my opinion,” said Dr. Kavandi. “It seems impossible. To be nominated to be in the top of that is really, really special. It’s beyond my wildest dreams and expectations. I’m very honored.”