Michael James Massimino
Michael James Massimino is an American engineer, former NASA astronaut, professor, author, and public communicator. His astronaut career is tightly linked to Hubble Space Telescope servicing and to making spaceflight more understandable to the public.
- Born
- August 19, 1962
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- New York City, New York,United States
Flights
2
Spacewalks
4
EVA time
30 hours, 32 minutes
In space
23 days, 19 hours, 48 minutes
Bio
Massimino graduated from Columbia University and earned multiple graduate degrees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, including a doctorate in mechanical engineering. His research focused on human-machine systems and space robotics.
NASA selected him with Astronaut Group 16 in 1996. He flew STS-109 in 2002 and STS-125 in 2009, both Hubble servicing missions, and performed four across those flights.
During STS-125, Massimino became widely known as the first person to post to Twitter from space, but the technical core of his career is Hubble repair work under high-stakes EVA conditions. His work helped extend the observatory's scientific life.
After NASA, he joined Columbia University, wrote books, appeared in media, and became one of the most recognizable explainers of astronaut work.