Michael J. McCulley
Encyclopedia
Michael James McCulley (Captain, USN, Ret.) is a former NASA
astronaut
, and was the first submariner in space.
, but considers Livingston, Tennessee
to be his hometown. Married to the former Jane Emalie Thygeson of Melbourne, Florida
. Six children. Recreational interests include skiing, reading, camping, and jogging. He currently resides in Friendswood, Texas
.
and subsequently served on one diesel-powered and two nuclear-powered submarines. In 1965 he entered Purdue University, and in January 1970, received his Naval Officers commission and both degrees. Following flight training, he served tours of duty in A-4 Skyhawk
and A-6 Intruder
aircraft, and was selected to attend the Empire Test Pilots' School
in Britain
. He served in a variety of test pilots billets at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland, before returning to sea duty on USS Saratoga
and USS Nimitz.
He has flown over 50 aircraft types, logging over 5,000 flying hours, and has nearly 400 carrier landings from six aircraft carriers.
Selected by NASA
in May 1984, McCulley completed a one-year training and evaluation program in June 1985, qualifying him for assignment as a pilot on future Space Shuttle
flight crews. His technical assignments include: Astronaut Office weather coordinator; flight crew representative to the Shuttle Requirements Control Board; Technical Assistant to the Director of Flight Crew Operations; lead of the Astronaut Support Team at the Kennedy Space Center. He flew on STS-34
in 1989 and has logged a total of 119 hours and 41 minutes in space.
In October 1990, following his retirement from NASA and the Navy, McCulley was employed by Lockheed Martin
Space Operations and served as Vice President and Deputy Launch Site Director for the Kennedy Space Center
. He was promoted to Director in November 1995.
McCulley next served as Vice President and Associate Program Manager for USA's (United Space Alliance
) Ground Operations at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida
. Named to this position on June 1, 1996, he was responsible for directing the integration of all processing activities associated with America's Space Shuttle program to ensure safe and successful fulfillment of all company contractual commitments to NASA.
Prior to being named COO, McCulley was Vice President and Deputy Program Manager for the Space Flight Operations Contract (SFOC), where he assisted USA’s Vice President and Program manager in the management of the Space Shuttle Program.
In November 1999, Mike McCulley was named Chief Operating Officer (COO) of United Space Alliance (USA). In this role he had primary responsibility for the day-to-day operations and overall management of USA, the Prime Contractor for the Space Shuttle Program.
On May 15, 2003, Mike McCulley was named President and Chief Executive Officer of United Space Alliance and is ultimately responsible for the direction, development and operations of the company.
On September 28, 2007, Mike McCulley retired from his position as CEO of United Space Alliance.
launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on October 18, 1989, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base
, California
, on October 23, 1989. During the mission crew members successfully deployed the Galileo spacecraft
on its journey to explore Jupiter
, operated the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Instrument (SSBUV) to map atmospheric ozone, and performed numerous secondary experiments involving radiation measurements, polymer morphology, lightning research, microgravity effects on plants, and a student experiment on ice crystal growth in space. Mission duration was 4 days, 23 hours, 41 minutes.
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
, and was the first submariner in space.
Personal data
Born August 4, 1943, in San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, but considers Livingston, Tennessee
Livingston, Tennessee
Livingston is a town in Overton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,498 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Overton County...
to be his hometown. Married to the former Jane Emalie Thygeson of Melbourne, Florida
Melbourne, Florida
Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. As of 2009, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 78,323. The municipal area is the second largest by size and by population in the county. Melbourne is a principal city of the Palm Bay – Melbourne – Titusville, Florida...
. Six children. Recreational interests include skiing, reading, camping, and jogging. He currently resides in Friendswood, Texas
Friendswood, Texas
Friendswood is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The city lies in Galveston and Harris counties. As of the 2000 U.S...
.
Education
- 1961: Graduated from Livingston Academy Livingston, Tennessee
- Received a bachelor of science degree and a master of science degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Purdue UniversityPurdue UniversityPurdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
Organizations
Member of the:- Society of Experimental Test PilotsSociety of Experimental Test PilotsThe Society of Experimental Test Pilots is an international organization that seeks to promote air safety and contributes to aeronautical advancement by promoting sound aeronautical design and development; interchanging ideas, thoughts and suggestions of the members, assisting in the professional...
- Association of Space Explorations
- Boy Scouts of AmericaBoy Scouts of AmericaThe Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
(Eagle ScoutEagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
) - Tau Beta PiTau Beta PiThe Tau Beta Pi Association is the oldest engineering honor society in the United States and the second oldest collegiate honor society in America. It honors engineering students who have shown a history of academic achievement as well as a commitment to personal and professional integrity...
. - Active in community affairs, he currently serves on the curriculum advisory committee for the engineering school at Purdue University, and on the Board of Trustees for the Clear Lake Regional Medical Center.
Experience
After graduation from high school, McCulley enlisted in the U.S. NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and subsequently served on one diesel-powered and two nuclear-powered submarines. In 1965 he entered Purdue University, and in January 1970, received his Naval Officers commission and both degrees. Following flight training, he served tours of duty in A-4 Skyhawk
A-4 Skyhawk
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a carrier-capable ground-attack aircraft designed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The delta winged, single-engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated the A4D...
and A-6 Intruder
A-6 Intruder
The Grumman A-6 Intruder was an American, twin jet-engine, mid-wing attack aircraft built by Grumman Aerospace. In service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps between 1963 and 1997, the Intruder was designed as an all-weather medium attack aircraft to replace the piston-engined A-1 Skyraider...
aircraft, and was selected to attend the Empire Test Pilots' School
Empire Test Pilots' School
The Empire Test Pilots' School is a British training school for test pilots and flight test engineers of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft at MoD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England. It was established in 1943, the first of its type...
in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He served in a variety of test pilots billets at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland, before returning to sea duty on USS Saratoga
USS Saratoga (CV-60)
USS Saratoga , was one of four Forrestal- class supercarriers built for the US Navy in the 1950s. Saratoga was the sixth US Navy ship, and the second aircraft carrier, to be named for the Battle of Saratoga in the American Revolutionary War.Commissioned in 1956, she spent most of her career in...
and USS Nimitz.
He has flown over 50 aircraft types, logging over 5,000 flying hours, and has nearly 400 carrier landings from six aircraft carriers.
Selected by NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
in May 1984, McCulley completed a one-year training and evaluation program in June 1985, qualifying him for assignment as a pilot on future Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
flight crews. His technical assignments include: Astronaut Office weather coordinator; flight crew representative to the Shuttle Requirements Control Board; Technical Assistant to the Director of Flight Crew Operations; lead of the Astronaut Support Team at the Kennedy Space Center. He flew on STS-34
STS-34
STS-34 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission using Space Shuttle Atlantis. It was the 31st shuttle mission overall, and the 5th flight for Atlantis. During the mission, the Jupiter-bound Galileo probe was deployed into space...
in 1989 and has logged a total of 119 hours and 41 minutes in space.
In October 1990, following his retirement from NASA and the Navy, McCulley was employed by Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
Space Operations and served as Vice President and Deputy Launch Site Director for the Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
. He was promoted to Director in November 1995.
McCulley next served as Vice President and Associate Program Manager for USA's (United Space Alliance
United Space Alliance
United Space Alliance is a spaceflight operations company. USA is a joint venture which was established in August 1995 as a Limited Liability Company , equally owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas and, employed approximately 8,800 people in Texas,...
) Ground Operations at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Named to this position on June 1, 1996, he was responsible for directing the integration of all processing activities associated with America's Space Shuttle program to ensure safe and successful fulfillment of all company contractual commitments to NASA.
Prior to being named COO, McCulley was Vice President and Deputy Program Manager for the Space Flight Operations Contract (SFOC), where he assisted USA’s Vice President and Program manager in the management of the Space Shuttle Program.
In November 1999, Mike McCulley was named Chief Operating Officer (COO) of United Space Alliance (USA). In this role he had primary responsibility for the day-to-day operations and overall management of USA, the Prime Contractor for the Space Shuttle Program.
On May 15, 2003, Mike McCulley was named President and Chief Executive Officer of United Space Alliance and is ultimately responsible for the direction, development and operations of the company.
On September 28, 2007, Mike McCulley retired from his position as CEO of United Space Alliance.
Space flight experience
McCulley was the pilot on STS-34. The crew aboard Shuttle Orbiter AtlantisSpace Shuttle Atlantis
The Space Shuttle Atlantis is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter in the Space Shuttle fleet belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration , the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States...
launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on October 18, 1989, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, on October 23, 1989. During the mission crew members successfully deployed the Galileo spacecraft
Galileo spacecraft
Galileo was an unmanned spacecraft sent by NASA to study the planet Jupiter and its moons. Named after the astronomer and Renaissance pioneer Galileo Galilei, it was launched on October 18, 1989 by the Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-34 mission...
on its journey to explore Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
, operated the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Instrument (SSBUV) to map atmospheric ozone, and performed numerous secondary experiments involving radiation measurements, polymer morphology, lightning research, microgravity effects on plants, and a student experiment on ice crystal growth in space. Mission duration was 4 days, 23 hours, 41 minutes.