Lucky No. 7

Ross' next turn in space could come as early as Thursday when Atlantis is scheduled to lift off on a $790 million assembly mission to the International Space Station. Preparations for the launch between 2 and 6 p.m. EST (1900 to 2300 GMT) are on schedule. There is a 70 percent chance of acceptable weather.

STS-110

For complete launch to landing coverage and the most up-to-date news about this assembly mission to the International Space Station click here.

During the planned 11-day mission Ross will be among the Atlantis spacewalkers who will help mount a 13-ton truss to the top of the Destiny science module and deploy a mobile transporter that will allow the station's robot arm to move on tracks along the length of the truss, which eventually will stretch longer than a football field.

In fact, he and fellow crewman Lee Morin, 49, will become NASA's first pair of spacewalking grandfathers. They've already earned the nickname the "Silver Team" from their mission specialist colleague Steven Smith.

"These are a couple of exceptional grandfathers," added Atlantis commander Mike Bloomfield.

If all goes according to plan, Ross should chalk up his eighth and ninth spacewalks and raise the total time he has spent outside working in the vacuum to about 56 hours.

Impressive numbers for humanity's still relatively-new journey into space -- for just about everyone but Ross, that is.

"I don't feel like a movie star or something like that. I don't believe all my press write ups," Ross said. "I just feel fortunate to do what I do. I enjoy it tremendously. It's fun."

Ross may downplay the significance of being the first to fly seven times, but his friends and colleagues say no one is more deserving of the honor.

"He is a professional's professional," said former astronaut Jay Apt, who was Ross' spacewalking partner during the April 1991 mission -- by then Ross' third flight -- to deploy the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.

"I was lucky enough that on my first mission we had five of us who had been immersed in spaceflight all our lives, and prided ourselves on knowing all we could about the orbiter and payload, and how to work and live in space," Apt said. "Jerry was first among equals and set a standard we all lived by."

That experience was particularly helpful on their mission when an antenna on the observatory would not swing open, prompting Ross and Apt to don suits for an emergency spacewalk to fix the problem. Ross tugged at the stuck appendage for only a second before it came loose, saving the day.

Apt -- who still lectures on spaceflight and is a senior manager with the venture capital firm iNetworks, LLC -- likened Ross' abilities to those of another legendary spacewalker, Story Musgrave, saying that they both could always determine the best way to get things done.

"That probably comes from Jerry's hobby of rebuilding cars. I always figure that someone who works on their car or airplane has a good shot at being an excellent spacewalking crewmember," Apt said.

The only problem with Ross as far as Apt is concerned: "He can't be counted on to down his share of shrimp or crawfish. Seems he never ate fish as a kid in the Midwest and still won't."

Ross' response to Apt: "Don't believe everything Jay tells you."

Next page: Leading by example