Linda Voss

In 7th grade Janice Voss stood up in science lab and declared she wanted to be an astronaut. Ten years before women were allowed to become astronauts, she determined to be the girl who could be chosen for the space mission. Among the first 20 American women to fly in space, Janice shares the record for most flights by women of the shuttle era at five space missions.

A brilliant engineer and problem solver, Janice had a natural aptitude for finding a way that made sense to her when others said it couldn’t be done. She was comfortable pathfinding—first for herself, then for her mission team, and the nation and humanity. Along the way, she shared what she learned, helping others find a path to their own dreams.

When she learned she had cancer, the worst happened: NASA grounded her from active flight status. When the cancer found her a second time 10 years later, she determined to set out on a journey to discover a better way to beat it. Her difference as an explorer—the personal qualities that enabled her to become an astronaut and who she was as an astronaut—came into sharp relief during her cancer journey. She died as she lived—on a mission of her own choosing.

The Sky Is Not the Limit is a testament to the extraordinary life of my sister Astronaut Janice Voss. My sister joined cosmonaut Vladimir Titov on the first of the Russian space station Mir rendezvous missions, collected the body of knowledge of how flame burns, and made the most detailed geographical map of Earth that ever existed. As an astronaut, she surpassed boundaries to change life on Earth.

Braiding memoir, biography, and cultural observation, this narrative provides a unique window into the historical moment when women first ascended to the heights of an aerospace career, balancing the brushstrokes of close portraiture with a broad sweep of history. As a sister documenting and rediscovering Janice’s life, I searched for the lessons—what matters in life, the courage of a life lived well, and what of being human transcends illness and death.