posted 03-12-2012 11:09 AM               

Record-setting astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria departs NASA

Michael Lopez-Alegria, NASA's most experienced spacewalker and the American holding the record for the single longest spaceflight mission, has left the agency.

Lopez-Alegria flew on four missions and performed 10 spacewalks during his career. He most recently served as assistant director for the International Space Station (ISS) in the Flight Crew Operations Directorate at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"Mike has faithfully served the Flight Crew Operations Directorate for many years," said Janet Kavandi, director of Flight Crew Operations at Johnson. "His unique background and diplomatic skills have made him an outstanding FCOD assistant director for space station and lead for the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel."

"Mike's tireless dedication to the safety and well-being of space station crews is well known. We will miss him and wish him well in his future endeavors," Kavandi added.

Lopez-Alegria logged more than 257 days in space, including 215 days as commander of the Expedition 14 mission to the ISS, which stands as the single longest spaceflight by an American.

Lopez-Alegria also logged more than 67 hours during 10 spacewalks, more than any other American, and second only in the record books to Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev.

"Mike has been a huge asset to the astronaut office during the course of his career," said Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office at Johnson. "His contributions in spacewalking, shuttle, space station and Soyuz operations are notable and very distinguished. Personally, we will miss his humor and insights and wish him all the best."

Michael Lopez-Alegria flew on three space shuttle missions. The first, STS-73 in 1995, focused on science experiments. He then served as NASA's director of operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, where he was in charge of American astronauts training for flights to the Russian space station Mir and the ISS. Lopez-Alegria later flew on STS-92 in 2000 and STS-113 in 2002, delivering critical truss elements to the station.

As Expedition 14 commander, Lopez-Alegria and his crew launched to the ISS on a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sept. 18, 2006. This fourth and final mission earned Lopez-Alegria the spaceflight record. The crew conducted a seven month mission to operate, maintain, build and use the station and its science facilities. During the expedition, two uncrewed Russian Progress cargo vehicles arrived and departed the station and a space shuttle assembly mission reconfigured the station's power supply. Lopez-Alegria's mission ended with a Soyuz landing on the Kazakh steppe on April 21, 2007.

posted 03-12-2012 01:26 PM               

Astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria Named President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation

The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that former NASA astronaut, International Space Station commander, Naval Aviator, and test pilot Michael E. Lopez-Alegria (Capt., U.S. Navy, Ret.) has been named as President, effective March 19, 2012.

Lopez-Alegria was selected for the position following a vote of the Board of Directors of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF).

As President, Lopez-Alegria will lead the Federation staff, and work with the 40+ members of the Federation, which include providers of commercial orbital and suborbital spaceflight, spaceports and launch facilities, suppliers, and educational and research institutions. Lopez-Alegria succeeds Rear Admiral Craig Steidle.

Lopez-Alegria has over three decades of experience with the U.S. Navy and NASA in a variety of roles including Naval Aviator, Navy engineering test pilot and program manager, NASA astronaut, ISS commander, and assistant director of flight crew operations. He is a four-time astronaut, flying on Space Shuttle missions STS-73, STS-92, and STS-113, and serving as Commander of ISS Expedition 14 (flying to and from the ISS aboard Soyuz TMA-9). He most recently served as the Assistant for ISS to the Director of Flight Crew Operations at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Lopez-Alegria is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a bachelor's degree in systems engineering and earned his master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. Lopez-Alegria is also a graduate of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security. He speaks Spanish, French, and Russian.

Lopez-Alegria holds three NASA records: longest spaceflight (215 days); most number of Extravehicular Activities (EVA) (10) and cumulative EVA time (67 hours 40 minutes).

Eric Anderson, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and Chairman of Space Adventures, Ltd., stated, "We are incredibly excited to have someone as capable as Michael Lopez-Alegria leading the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Michael is a leader and a true pioneer whose first-hand experience with spaceflight and the International Space Station will be invaluable to our members and to the Federation."

Lopez-Alegria stated, "I am honored to accept the position of President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. I have been impressed with the all that the commercial spaceflight industry has accomplished and I look forward to joining the team as it continues to take important strides that are fundamental in maintaining our nation's preeminence in space."

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation

The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation's member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering.

posted 06-28-2014 09:56 PM               

Federation sources, meanwhile, said the board has identified several promising candidates to replace Lopez-Alegria but expects that he will remain at his post at least through the end of the summer. Reached by phone June 27, Lopez-Alegria told Space News he is still job hunting. "I honestly don't know when I'm going, or where I'm going," he said.

posted 05-10-2016 05:12 PM               

My new website is up! Take a look.

He is now an independent consultant to traditional and commercial spaceflight companies, serves on several advisory boards and committees to public and private organizations, and is engaged in public speaking domestically and internationally.