James Joki was a NASA engineer who contributed to the development of the Apollo program Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMU) and served as a mission flight controller. He later became an obstetrician and gynecologist.

James “Jim” Allen Joki was born August 14, 1942 to Ole and Beryl Joki in Seattle, Washington. He attended Ballard High School, graduating in 1960. He then earned a degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering at the University of Washington in 1965. Upon graduation, Joki applied to NASA for a flight control position in Houston, Texas. His enthusiasm and interest in space medicine directed him towards working on the EMU space suits and life support backpacks. He designed, developed, and tested the product, assessing the EMU through experiments simulating zero gravity and deep space conditions. During the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon, Joki served as the EMU flight controller, responsible for the space suit and life support system during the astronauts’ extravehicular activities. In this role he had the final “go/no go” decision before Neil Armstrong opened the lunar module hatch. He received several awards for his work on the Apollo missions.

Joki continued his studies after the completion of the Apollo 13 mission, earning a Master of Arts in Physiology in 1972 and then a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1975, both from the University of Texas Medical Branch. Realizing the similarities between telemetry monitoring of astronauts and fetal monitoring during women’s labor and delivery, Joki turned his career path to obstetrics and gynecology. He completed a four-year residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Wesley Medical Center at the University of Kansas Medical School in Wichita, Kansas. He returned to Seattle in 1979 and worked in private practice and at Northwest Hospital as an OB-GYN doctor. He was also a clinical instructor at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine. In 1983 he became a Diplomat of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and in 1986 he was named a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He retired in 2015.

Joki and his wife Judith “Judi” (Screws) Joki married on June 26, 1965. They had three children. Joki was an Eagle Scout and Scout Master and volunteered as a scout camp doctor. He was named a Pathfinder by the Museum of Flight in 2009. He was living in Shoreline, Washington as of 2023.

Biographical sketch derived from collection information.