Michael E. Fossum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Astronaut | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born | December 19, 1957 Sioux Falls, South Dakota |
| Occupation1 | Systems Engineer |
| Space time | 12d 18h 36m |
| Selection | 1998 NASA Group |
| Mission(s) | STS-121 |
| Mission insignia |  |
| 1 previous or current | |
Michael Edward Fossum (born December 19, 1957 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota) is an American astronaut. He flew his first mission into space onboard the NASA Space Shuttle mission STS-121 as a mission specialist.
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[edit] Education
Michael Fossum spent his early life in McAllen, TX. He graduated from McAllen High School in 1976. He attended The University of Texas-Pan American (previsouly known as Pan American University) in Edinburg, TX and later went on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University in 1980, followed by a Master of Science degree in systems engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1981. In 1997, Fossum received a Master of Science degree in physical science from the University of Houston-Clear Lake.
[edit] Air Force
Fossum was involved with the United States Air Force during his undergraduate years. After receiving his first master's degree, he was selected to attend Air Force Test Pilot School from which he graduated in 1985. Although he left active duty in 1992 in order to work for NASA, he is still a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, and has logged 1000 hours in 34 different kinds of aircraft.
[edit] NASA
The first time Fossum became interested in being an astronaut was at age 12 while watching the moon landing. He rekindled this dream while he was assigned by the Air Force at Johnson Space Center during the early 1990s.
His NASA career began in 1993 when he was employed as a systems engineer to evaluate the Russian Soyuz spacecraft as an emergency space vehicle on the International Space Station. He also worked for the X-38 project, in which he was in charge of vehicle flight tests.
Fossum was selected as an astronaut in 1998 and joined the Astronaut Corps in August of that year.
[edit] Space flight
He entered space for the first time on July 4, 2006 as a mission specialist of mission STS-121 to the International Space Station where he participated in three spacewalks. On July 8, Fossum with Piers Sellers conducted a 7 and a half hour spacewalk making a repair to the ISS and testing using the Shuttle's arm as a platform for making repairs to the Shuttle. Fossum became the first Texas Aggie undergraduate to travel to space.
[edit] Personal
Fossum is currently married to the former Melanie J. London and they have four children together. In his spare time he enjoys activities with his family and pastimes such as jogging and backpacking. As an Eagle Scout, he is also very involved with the Boy Scouts of America and is the leader of two different troops. He still keeps a close affiliation with Texas A&M University, from which he graduated from in 1980. Most recently, he attended a Junior Cadet Achievment Program (JCAP) Banquet in October of 2006 and helped present scholarships to the high school senior cadets who attended the program.
