| James Kelly | |
| Birth Name: | James McNeal Kelly |
| Birth Date: | 14 May 1964 |
| Birth Place: | Burlington, Iowa, U.S. |
| Other Names: | Vegas |
| Education: | United States Air Force Academy (BS) University of Alabama (MS) |
| Type: | NASA astronaut |
| Rank: | Colonel, USAF |
| Time: | 26d 17h 21m |
| Selection: | NASA Group 16 (1996) |
| Missions: | STS-102 STS-114 |
James McNeal "Vegas" Kelly (born May 14, 1964) is a NASA astronaut and a retired Colonel of the United States Air Force. He twice served as pilot on Space Shuttle missions. James Kelly is not related to Scott Kelly or Mark Kelly.
Born in Burlington, Iowa, James Kelly graduated from Burlington Community High School in 1982. He received a B.S. degree in astronautical engineering from the United States Air Force Academy in 1986 and M.S. degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Alabama in 1996.
Kelly received his commission from the United States Air Force Academy in May 1986 and was designated an Air Force Pilot in October 1987. He then reported to the 426th F-15 Replacement Training Unit at Luke Air Force Base, Phoenix, Arizona for initial F-15A Eagle training. After completion, he was assigned to the 67th Fighter Squadron, 18th Fighter Wing at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa.
During his tour in Japan, he was designated as an instructor pilot, evaluator pilot, and mission commander. He was reassigned in April 1992 to Otis Air National Guard Base in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, as part of Project Total Force, where he continued flying the F-15 as an instructor and mission commander. He was selected for Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, Edwards, California, where he graduated in June 1994. After graduation, he was assigned to the Air Force Flight Test Center detachment at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he was a project test pilot and assistant operations officer. He was at Nellis when selected for the astronaut program.
He has logged over 2,500 flight hours in more than 35 different aircraft.
Selected by NASA in April 1996, Kelly reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996. Having completed two years of training and evaluation, he is qualified for selection as a pilot on a Space Shuttle flight crew. He served as pilot on two shuttle missions. Initially, Kelly was assigned to the Astronaut Office Flight Support Branch where he served as a member of the Astronaut Support Personnel team responsible for shuttle launch preparation.
When this continued for a second day the shuttle was diverted and Kelly landed with Discovery at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Mission duration was 333 hours, 33 minutes. Kelly was the pilot on this mission.