James Dougal Adrianus "Ox" van Hoften (born June 11, 1944[2]) is an American civil and hydraulic engineer, retired U.S. Navy officer and aviator, and a former astronaut for NASA.

As a pilot with VF-154 assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Ranger in 1972, Van Hoften participated in two cruises to Southeast Asia where he flew approximately 60 combat missions during the Vietnam War.

STS-41-C: Challenger (April 6–13, 1984) was launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

During the 7-day mission the crew successfully deployed the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF); retrieved the ailing Solar Maximum Mission satellite, repaired it on board the orbiting Challenger and replaced it in orbit, using the robot arm called the Remote Manipulator System (RMS).

The mission also included flight testing of Manned Maneuvering Units (MMU's) in two extra-vehicular activities (EVA's); operation of the Cinema 360 and IMAX Camera Systems, as well as a Bee Hive Honeycomb Structures student experiment.

[2] STS-51-I: Discovery (August 27 to September 3, 1985) launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

The mission also included the Physical Vapor Transport of Organic Solids (PVTOS), the second material processing experiment to be flown aboard a Shuttle for 3M.

[4] Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Sigma Xi, Chi Epsilon, and Pi Kappa Alpha.