This page no longer updated from 31 October 2001. Latest version can be found at www.astronautix.com
astronautix.com McCulley
Michael James McCulley Status: Inactive. Trained as: Astronaut. Profession: Pilot. Sex: Male. Marital Status: Married. Children: Six. Birth Date: 04 August 1943. Birth City: San Diego. Birth State: California. Birth Country: USA. Nationality: American. Group: 1984 NASA Group. Date Selected: 23 May 1984. Departed: 1990. Number of Flights: 1. Total Time: 4.99 days.

NASA Official Biography

NAME: Michael J. McCulley (Captain, USN, Ret.)
NASA Astronaut (former)

PERSONAL DATA:
Born August 4, 1943, in San Diego, California, 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.

EDUCATION:
Graduated from Livingston Academy Livingston, Tennessee, in 1961; received a bachelor of science degree and a master of science degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Purdue University.

ORGANIZATIONS:
Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the Association of Space Explorations, the Boy Scouts of America (Eagle Scout), and Tau Beta Pi.

SPECIAL HONORS:
Awarded the Legion of Merit, Defense Superior Service Medal, NASA Space Flight Medal, Navy Commendation medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Navy Good Conduct Medal, Sea Service Ribbon, National Defense Medal, Small Arms Expert Ribbon, and the Battle "E" Ribbon.

EXPERIENCE:
After graduation from high school, McCulley enlisted in the U.S. Navy 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 and A-6 aircraft, and was selected to attend the Empire Test Pilots School in Great 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 5,00 flying hours, and has nearly 400 carrier landings from six aircraft carriers.

NASA EXPERIENCE:
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, McCulley retired from NASA and the Navy to join the Lockheed Space Operations Company as the Deputy Director of the Kennedy Space Center Launch Site with responsibility for over 6000 people who are involved in the processing of space shuttles from wheels-stop on the runway through T-0 on the Launch pad. Currently, McCulley is Vice President and Deputy Program Manager for the Space Flight Operation Contract and United Space Alliance. He is responsible for over 9000 people involved in virtually all aspects of Space Shuttle operation including flight controllers, astronaut training, and both launch and mission control facilities and operations in Texas and Florida.

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE:
McCulley was the pilot on STS-34. The crew aboard Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis 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.

APRIL 1998

Flight Log

Back to Index
Last update 3 May 2001.
To contact astronauts or cosmonauts.
Contact Mark Wade with any corrections or comments. Cosmonaut data by Alexander B. Zheleznyakov.

Conditions for use of drawings, pictures, or other materials from this site..
© Mark Wade, 2001 .