Michael E. Fossum
Michael Edward Fossum is an American engineer, Air Force officer, and former NASA astronaut. Selected in NASA Astronaut Group 17 in 1998, he flew during the shuttle station-assembly era and later commanded the ISS.
- Born
- December 19, 1957
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota,United States
Flights
3
Spacewalks
7
EVA time
48 hours, 32 minutes
In space
193 days, 19 hours, 2 minutes
Bio
Fossum studied mechanical engineering and systems engineering before a career in the Air Force and NASA engineering. Before selection as an astronaut, he supported Space Shuttle operations, payload work, and human spaceflight technical systems.
His first two flights were STS-121 and STS-124. Those shuttle missions supported return-to-flight, ISS assembly, and delivery of the Japanese Kibo laboratory components, with Fossum performing multiple .
Fossum launched on Soyuz TMA-02M in 2011 and served on 28 and 29, commanding Expedition 29. His long-duration mission included research, maintenance, visiting-vehicle operations, and ISS leadership during a period of full station utilization.
After NASA, Fossum moved into education and maritime academy leadership.