PROGRAMS:

COMPANIES:

• ILC Dover
• NASA

LOCATIONS:

Wright Patterson AFB, Langley, JSC (Houston)

POSITIONS:

Crew Chief Crew Systems Division, CTSD chief engineer for EVA projects, Spacesuit Systems Manager

COMMENTS:

In 1960, James (Jim) William McBarron II earned a bachelor of science in geology at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, and in 1983, he received a master of business administration from the University of Houston – Clear Lake in Houston, Texas. During his time in college, from 1958 to 1961, he worked part time on a University of Dayton contract with the Wright Patterson Air Force Base Aeromedical Laboratory that provided student test subjects to determine human endurance characteristics during and after exposure to extreme environmental conditions. His work as a student assistant also involved pressure suit design testing including suit hardware evaluation for the NASA Project Mercury. His career at NASA began in 1961 as an aerospace technologist with the Crew Equipment Branch, Life Sciences Division, Space Task Group, at Langley Field, Virginia. During his time with NASA, McBarron supported the Manned Spacecraft Center at JSC and worked with spacesuits for all NASA flight programs including Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), Skylab, Shuttle, and the ISS. Throughout his career, he was given several prestigious awards including the American Astronautical Society Victor A. Prather Award for outstanding contribution in the field of EV protection in space in 1979. He was a member of the Apollo 13 Mission Operations Teams that was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Nixon in 1971. He is the author and co-author of many spacesuit-related publications. Before he retired in 1999, McBarron was the CTSD chief engineer for EVA projects. In 1999, McBarron took a position with ILC Dover, Inc. as spacesuit systems manager where he reviewed advanced spacesuit technology requirements and design concepts for future manned space flight programs. In 2002, McBarron started his own consulting service to support development of advanced spacesuit technology and inflatable products for current and future manned-space missions. In his spare time, McBarron inspired youth to reach for the stars by visiting classrooms and teaching them the history of the manned spacecraft program and how anyone can achieve anything if they work hard for it.Personal Background Interview of Jim McBarron