By: Dennis Worden
Jackson, Mich. (Oct 18, 2022) – Astronaut James McDivitt, who passed away last week at the age of 93 in Tucson, Ariz., commanded NASA’s Apollo 9 mission and served as a program manager for the space agency since the early 1960’s.
What might not be as well known is that McDivitt has local ties to Jackson as he is an alumnus of Jackson College (known as Jackson Junior College then), and McDivitt Hall, built in 1969, still adorns his name on campus.
According to Jackson College’s website, McDivitt was an astronaut and program manager for NASA. He served in the U.S. Air Force and was a fighter pilot in the Korean War, before returning home to graduate from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering. With many service decorations, he was selected by NASA as an astronaut in 1962 and was command pilot for Gemini IV in 1965, and commanded the Apollo IX earth orbital flight in 1969. He retired from the Air Force in 1972 as brigadier general.
McDivitt was executive vice president and director of Consumers Power Co. of Jackson, before becoming executive vice president and a member of the board of directors of Pullman, Inc. in Chicago.
McDivitt grew up in Kalamazoo, but Jackson and the college continue to recognize him as a local hero. His expertise and critical thinking for NASA came at a time when space was still an unexplored frontier. It is because of McDivitt and others (including Jackson’s own astronaut Al Worden), that we have the knowledge and continue to do great things in space exploration.
