Michael Foale

Quick Facts

Full Name	Michael Foale
Occupation	Astrophysicist
Date Of Birth	Jan 6, 1957(1957-01-06)
Age	67
Birthplace	County Louth
Country	Ireland
Horoscope	Capricorn

Michael Foale Biography

Michael Foale is one of the most popular and richest Astrophysicist who was born on January 6, 1957 in County Louth, Ireland. Colin Michael Foale CBE, (/f/oU l/ ; 6 January 1957) was a British-American astronaut and astrophysicist. He has been on six space missions and is the only NASA astronaut who has flown extended missions aboard Mir and the International Space Station. He was also the first Briton to complete a spacewalk. Until 17 April 2008 he held the record for most time spent in space by a US citizen: 374 days, 11 hours, 19 minutes, and he still holds the cumulative-time-in-space record for a UK citizen.

Foale was born in the United Kingdom. He applied twice for astronaut eligibility and was rejected twice. Foale’s application essay changed from describing his dreams to writing about the realities of NASA leadership after the January 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger accident. He was then selected in 1987.

Launched by STS-84 and returned by STS-86, Foale spent four months on Mir in 1997 during the Mir 23 and Mir 24 missions. During Mir 23, the station’s Spektr module was struck by a Progress resupply vessel. Using knowledge from his physics degree Foale made calculations of how the stars were moving past his fixed-point thumb reference on a window, and was thus able to advise Russian ground control of how to stop the resulting roll. The two Russian cosmonauts of Mir 23, Vasily Tsibliyev and Aleksandr Lazutkin were planned to conduct an intravehicular activity (IVA) to inspect the collision damage from the interior of the space station, but this IVA was actually carried out by Mir EO-24 crew. After the Mir EO-24 crew exchange, Soyuz TM-26 with all three crew aboard was undocked, repositioned and re-docked. Foale acted as photographer during the operation. Foale and Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev also conducted a six-hour EVA in Russian Orlan spacesuits to inspect exterior damage to the Spektr module. Station damage produced significant risk to EVA suit integrity. For his efforts, he was awarded the Yuri A. Gagarin Gold Medal by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Subsequently, Mir’s primary and backup oxygen generation systems failed, but these were successfully repaired by the crew. The station also experienced computer failures and problems orientating the solar arrays at the correct angle to the sun. All these difficulties combined to produce what, looking back 20 years later, was arguably, the most dangerous ever long duration mission for a NASA astronaut. The problems encountered by Foale and his predecessor aboard Mir, Jerry Linenger, resulted in intense political pressure on NASA. The final decision between the termination of NASA crewing of Mir with Foale’s departure, or his scheduled replacement by David Wolf was only made by NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin the night before the launch of STS-86.

Foale was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside in July 2000 and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Kent in September 2000. He was invested as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the diplomatic list of the New Year Honours in December 2004.

Foale was a postgraduate student at Cambridge University and participated in the organization and execution of scientific diving projects. Foale began a career with the US Space Program and moved to Houston, Texas to work for McDonnell Douglas on Space Shuttle navigation issues. Foale joined NASA Johnson Space Center as a payload operator in the Mission Operations Directorate. As a payload officer at the Mission Control Center, Foale was responsible for payload operations for Space Shuttle missions STS 51G, 51I, 61B, and 61C.

Michael Foale Net Worth

Michael Foale is one of the richest Astrophysicist from Ireland. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Michael Foale 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

Foale was the son of a British father, Colin Foale, and a mother from America, Mary Foale. Foale was born in Cambridge, and he attended The King’s School, Canterbury. He was a member of the Air Training Corps and studied at Queens College, Cambridge (with Stephen Fry, who was amused by his ambition to go to space). He received a first-class honours in natural sciences in 1978, and a doctorate of laboratory astrophysics from Alan Cook in 1982. He left university with “two pairs of jeans, a bike, a donkey jacket and a pilot’s license; this shows that I set my priorities perfectly.”

Foale was the driver for a Yugoslavia car that was hit by a truck in 1980. His girlfriend and brother were killed. Colin Foale, his father, wrote a 1999 book titled Waystation to the Stars that detailed the astronaut’s experiences at Mir.

He flew on space shuttle missions STS-45 (1992), STS-56 (1993) and STS-63 (1995). In the last mission he undertook a four-hour EVA. He was then selected for an extended mission aboard the Russian Mir space station.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

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Who is Michael Foale Dating?

According to our records, Michael Foale is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Michael Foale’s is not dating anyone.

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Facts & Trivia

Michael Ranked on the list of most popular Astrophysicist. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in Ireland. Michael Foale celebrates birthday on January 6 of every year.

Where does Michael Foale live?

Personal life. Married with two children, Foale and his family live in Seabrook, Texas. He is fluent in Russian.

When did Michael Foale become an astronaut?

In June 1983 , Foale joined NASA Johnson Space Center and worked as payload officer for four Shuttle missions. Foale became a NASA astronaut in 1988 and served as a mission specialist on Shuttle missions STS-45, STS-56, and STS-63 before beginning training for his mission on Mir.

Where was Michael Foale born?

Louth, United Kingdom

How can I become an astronaut in India?

Requirements to Become an Astronaut in NASA Students must have a bachelor’s degree in Computer/Physical science, engineering, biology, or maths. Applicants must have an aggregate of 65%. A minimum of 3 years of professional experience is required or 1,000 hours of piloting.

How many British astronauts are there?

Tim Peake is the UK’s first official astronaut and the first British astronaut to go to the International Space Station. However, he is not the first Briton in space.