Michael López-Alegría
Spanish-American astronaut (born 1958)
Michael López-Alegría (born Miguel Eladio López Alegría; born May 30, 1958) is an astronaut, test pilot and commercial astronaut with dual nationality, American and Spanish; a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions and one International Space Station mission. He is known for having performed ten spacewalks so far in his career, presently holding the second longest all-time EVA duration record (first among NASA astronauts) and having the fifth-longest spaceflight of any American at the length of 215 days; this time was spent on board the ISS from September 18, 2006, to April 21, 2007.2
From Wikipedia’s article on Michael López-Alegría (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Born May 30, 1958.1
About
López-Alegría commanded Axiom-1, the first all-private team of commercial astronaut mission to the International Space Station, which launched on April 8, 2022, and spent just over 17 days in Earth's orbit.
From Wikipedia’s article on Michael López-Alegría, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2
Companies
- Axiom SpaceBoard member16
Early life and education
- Date not recordedJohn F. Kennedy School of Government3 4
- Date not recordedUnited States Naval Test Pilot School3
- Date not recordedNaval Postgraduate School3
- Date not recordedUnited States Naval Academy3
Son of a Spanish father and an American mother, López-Alegría was born in Madrid, Spain and raised in Mission Viejo, California. After graduating from Mission Viejo High School, López-Alegría joined the United States Navy, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in systems engineering in 1980 from the U.S. Naval Academy, and a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1988 from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Designated a Naval Aviator in 1981, his aviation experience in the Navy was as an instructor pilot in Training Squadron 2 (VT-2) at Naval Air Station Whiting Field near Pensacola, Florida, at Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 2 (VQ-2) in Rota, Spain, and the Naval Air Test Center at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. He was the first EP-3E pilot to be selected for U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. He is a graduate of Harvard Kennedy School's Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security. He is fluent in English, Spanish, French, and Russian.
His son Nicolas starred alongside López-Alegría in 2006 in Mira La Luna (directed by Eduard Bosch). A second documentary, directed by Manuel Huerga, Son And Moon, was released in Spanish theaters in 2009 featuring astronauts Mikhail Tyurin, Sunita Williams, and him.
From Wikipedia’s article on Michael López-Alegría (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Career
Occupation: astronaut.8
- 2006 to 2007ISS Expedition commander7
- Date not recordedAstronaut, National Aeronautics and Space Administration5
- Date not recordedBoard member, Axiom Space6
López-Alegría retired from NASA on March 12, 2012 and served as the President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation through the end of 2014.
López-Alegría is an independent consultant to traditional and commercial space companies, serves on several advisory boards and committees to public and private organizations, and is engaged in public speaking domestically and internationally. He is based in Washington, DC.
In 2017, López-Alegría joined Axiom Space as director of Business Development. He flew in space again in 2022 as commander of Axiom Mission 1, the first Axiom Space Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station.
López-Alegría was the commander of Axiom Mission 3, which launched on 18 January 2024.
From Wikipedia’s article on Michael López-Alegría (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Personal life
Awards
Links
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
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- 2WikipediaMichael López-Alegría on Wikipedia
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- 4Wikidataeducation, as reported
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- 12Wikidataaward, as reported
- 13Wikidataaward, as reported
- 14Wikidataaward, as reported
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- 16WikidataAxiom Space, Board member
- 17Wikimedia CommonsMichael López-Alegría photo by Robert Markowitz, Public domain