Michael S. Hopkins
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Michael Scott Hopkins (born December 28, 1968) is a
United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
and
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
astronaut. Hopkins was selected in June 2009 as a member of the NASA Astronaut Group 20. He made his first spaceflight as a Flight Engineer on Soyuz TMA-10M/ Expedition 37/
Expedition 38 Expedition 38 was the 38th expedition to the International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest Modular design, modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project in ...
, from September 2013 until March 2014. He is the first member of his astronaut class to fly in space. Hopkins is the first astronaut to transfer to the U.S. Space Force, participating in a transfer ceremony on the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...
.


Biography


Early life and education

Michael Scott Hopkins was born on December 28, 1968, in
Lebanon, Missouri Lebanon is a city in and the county seat of Laclede County in Missouri. The population was 14,474 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Laclede County. The Lebanon Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of Laclede County. Hi ...
but grew up on a farm in
Richland, Missouri Richland is a city in Camden, Laclede, and Pulaski counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 1,863 at the 2010 census. History Richland was originally called Lyon, and under the latter name was platted in 1869. The present name ...
in a
United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...
family. After graduating from the School of the Osage High School in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, in 1987, he entered the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
. While there, he played defensive back for the
Illinois Fighting Illini football The Illinois Fighting Illini football program represents the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) level. The Fighting Illini are a founding member of ...
team and was awarded the
Big Ten Medal of Honor One of the most prestigious conference awards in college athletics, the Big Ten Medal of Honor was first awarded in 1915 to one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who had “attained the greatest proficiency in athletics ...
, which recognizes one male and one female student from the graduating class of each Big Ten member school, for demonstrating joint athletic and academic excellence throughout their college career. He graduated in 1991 with a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
degree in aerospace engineering. He followed his undergraduate studies with a
Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...
degree in aerospace engineering from Stanford University, which he earned in 1992.


Military career

Hopkins received his commission in the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
via the Air Force ROTC from the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...
, where he was a distinguished graduate. After graduating with his bachelor's degree he was commissioned a second lieutenant in January 1992. Early in his Air Force career, he was stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico working on advanced space system technologies. In 1996, he attended the
U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (USAF TPS) is the Air Force's advanced flight training school that trains experimental test pilots, flight test engineers, and flight test flight officer, navigators to carry out tests and evaluations of new ...
as a
flight test engineer A flight test engineer (FTE) is an engineer involved in the flight testing of prototype aircraft or aircraft systems. Overview The flight test engineer generally has overall responsibility for the planning of a specific flight test phase, which i ...
. He graduated in class 96B as a Distinguished graduate and top flight test engineer. Following Test Pilot School he was assigned to the 418th Flight Test Squadron testing the C-17 and
C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...
aircraft. In 1999, he was sent to Canada on an exchange program. While there he lived in
Cold Lake, Alberta Cold Lake is a city in northeastern Alberta, Canada and is named after the lake nearby. Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake (CFB Cold Lake) is situated within the city's outer limits. History Cold Lake was first recorded on a 1790 map, by the nam ...
working with the Canadian Flight Test Center. In 2002, he was selected as an Olmsted Scholar by the George and Carol Olmsted Foundation and was sent to the
Defense Language Institute The Defense Language Institute (DLI) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) educational and research institution consisting of two separate entities which provide linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other f ...
in Monterey, California studying foreign language. After six months of language training, he was sent to
Parma, Italy Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...
studying
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
at the Università degli Studi di Parma. In 2005, Hopkins was assigned to the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Project Office at
the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...
where he was a project engineer and program manager. Following this assignment, in 2008 he was assigned as a Special Assistant to the
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (VJCS) is, by U.S. law, the second highest-ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, - Vice Chairman ranking just below the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The vice chairman ...
, General
James Cartwright James Edward "Hoss" Cartwright (born September 22, 1949) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who last served as the eighth vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from August 31, 2007, to August 3, 2011. He previously se ...
. He was working with the Joint Chiefs when he was assigned to be an astronaut candidate.


NASA career

In 2009, Hopkins was one of nine astronauts selected by NASA as part of NASA Astronaut Group 20. He began training alongside his Group mates and five international mission specialists later that year at the Johnson Space Center. He completed his training in November 2011 after two years of scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in International Space Station systems, spacewalks, robotics, physiological training, T-38 flight training, and water and wilderness survival training. Following the completion of his astronaut training, Hopkins became available to work other jobs in the NASA Astronaut Office, as well as being eligible for a future flight assignment.


Expedition 37/38

In February 2011, Hopkins was assigned to the crew of ISS Expedition 37/ 38, becoming the first member of his astronaut class to be given a flight assignment. He began training alongside Russian cosmonauts
Oleg Kotov Oleg Valeriyevich Kotov (russian: Олег Валериевич Котов) was born on 27 October 1965 in Simferopol, Crimean oblast in the Ukrainian SSR. After a career as a physician assigned to the Soviet space program, he joined the Russia ...
and
Sergey Ryazansky Sergey Nikolayevich Ryazansky (russian: Серге́й Николаевич Рязанский; born November 13, 1974) is a Russian cosmonaut. He was selected as commander of the IMBP-6 cosmonaut group in 2003, but later transferred to the TsPK ...
for a long-duration flight to the Space Station. On September 25, 2013, Hopkins, Kotov, and Ryazansky launched on board the Soyuz TMA-10M spacecraft. The trio docked with the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...
several hours later, joining the Expedition 37 crew, which included
Roscosmos The State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" (russian: Государственная корпорация по космической деятельности «Роскосмос»), commonly known simply as Roscosmos (russian: Роскосмос) ...
cosmonaut
Fyodor Yurchikhin Fyodor Nikolayevich Yurchikhin (russian: Фёдор Николаевич Юрчихин, Greek: Θεόδωρος Γιουρτσίχιν του Νικόλαου; born 3 January 1959) is a Russian cosmonaut of Greek descent, engineer and RSC Ene ...
, NASA astronaut
Karen Nyberg Karen LuJean Nyberg (born October 7, 1969) is an American mechanical engineer and retired NASA astronaut. Nyberg became the 50th woman in space on her first mission in 2008. Nyberg started her space career in 1991 and spent a total of 180 days ...
, and
ESA , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (120 ...
astronaut
Luca Parmitano Colonel Luca Parmitano (born 27 September 1976 in Paternò, Sicily) is an Italian astronaut in the European Astronaut Corps for the European Space Agency (ESA). He was selected as an ESA astronaut in May 2009. Parmitano is also a Colonel and ...
. Shortly before their arrival aboard the station, the existing crew had welcomed the
Orbital Sciences Corporation Orbital Sciences Corporation (commonly referred to as Orbital) was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and medium- class space and launch vehicle systems for commercial, military and other governmen ...
Orb-D1 mission, the first demonstration flight of Orbital's Cygnus unmanned resupply spacecraft, flying under the
Commercial Resupply Services Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) are a series of flights awarded by NASA for the delivery of cargo and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) on commercially operated spacecraft. The first CRS contracts were signed in 2008 and awarde ...
contract. Following the departure of Soyuz TMA-09M, carrying Yurchikin, Nyberg, and Parmitano, Hopkins and his two crewmates joined the Expedition 38 crew, with Kotov taking over as Station commander. Just prior to the departure of Soyuz TMA-09M, they had been joined by the remaining three Expedition 38 crew members: Roscosmos cosmonaut
Mikhail Tyurin Mikhail Vladislavovich Tyurin (russian: Михаил Владиславович Тюрин; born March 2, 1960) is a former Russian cosmonaut who flew several missions to the International Space Station and completed four spacewalks during his ca ...
; NASA astronaut
Rick Mastracchio Richard Alan "Rick" Mastracchio (born February 11, 1960) is an American engineer and former NASA astronaut. He has flown on three NASA Space Shuttle missions as a mission specialist in addition to serving as a Flight Engineer on the Soyuz TMA-1 ...
; and JAXA astronaut
Koichi Wakata is a Japanese engineer and a JAXA astronaut. Wakata is a veteran of four NASA Space Shuttle missions, a Russian Soyuz mission, and a long-duration stay on the International Space Station. During a nearly two-decade career in spaceflight, he has ...
, who had arrived aboard Soyuz TMA-11M. This unusual "direct handover" was in order to allow the crew of Soyuz TMA-11M to bring up an
Olympic torch The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olym ...
, to be returned by the crew of Soyuz TMA-09M days later as part of the
Olympic Torch Relay The Olympic torch relay is the ceremonial relaying of the Olympic flame from Olympia, Greece, to the site of an Olympic Games. It was first performed at the 1936 Summer Olympics, and has taken place prior to every Games since. Although in the pa ...
for the 2014 Winter Olympics in
Sochi, Russia Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents i ...
. During Expedition 38, Hopkins participated in two spacewalks, alongside Mastracchio, lasting 5 hours and 28 minutes and 7 hours and 30 minutes, respectively. During the spacewalks, Mastracchio and Hopkins performed maintenance and upgrades on the exterior of the station. Also during ISS-38, Hopkins was aboard the station for the berthing and release of
Cygnus CRS Orb-1 Orbital-1, also known as Orb-1, was the second flight of the Orbital Sciences Cygnus cargo spacecraft, its second flight to the International Space Station (ISS) and the third launch of the company's Antares launch vehicle. The mission launche ...
, the first operational flight of the Cygnus spacecraft. Hopkins and his two crewmates departed the station aboard Soyuz TMA-10M on March 10, 2014, leaving Tyrin, Masstrachio, and Wakata aboard the station as the initial crew of Expedition 39. The trio landed in
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
less than five hours later, ending a 166-day spaceflight.


Expedition 64/65

In August 2018, Hopkins and Victor Glover were assigned to fly on
SpaceX Crew-1 SpaceX Crew-1 (was also known as USCV-1 or simply Crew-1) was the first operational crewed flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the maiden flight of the Crew Dragon ''Resilience'' spacecraft. It was also the second crewed orbital flight l ...
, the first operational mission to the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...
of the SpaceX
Crew Dragon Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, primarily for flights to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX has also launched private missions such as Ins ...
as part of NASA's
Commercial Crew Program The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) provides commercially-operated crew transportation service to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to NASA, conducting crew rotations between the expeditions of the International S ...
. The two were later joined by NASA astronaut
Shannon Walker Shannon Walker (born June 4, 1965) is an American physicist and a NASA astronaut selected in 2004. She launched on her first mission into space on June 25, 2010, onboard Soyuz TMA-19 and spent over 163 days in space. She returned to space fo ...
and JAXA astronaut
Soichi Noguchi is a Japanese aeronautical engineer and former JAXA astronaut. His first spaceflight was as a Mission Specialist aboard STS-114 on 26 July 2005 for NASA's first "return to flight" Space Shuttle mission after the ''Columbia'' disaster. He was a ...
in March 2020. On November 15, 2020, Hopkins, Glover, Walker, and Noguchi launched on Crew Dragon ''Resilience'', arriving at the Station two days later, on November 17. On December 18, 2020, Hopkins became the first astronaut to transfer from the Air Force to the Space Force in a ceremony on the International Space Station. On January 27, 2021, Hopkins' third spacewalk was a team effort with Victor Glover, lasting for nearly seven hours as they worked to upgrade the ''Columbus'' module. It was Glover's first spacewalk ever. On February 1, 2021, on the second spacewalk of the mission, and his fourth spacewalk overall, also with Glover, Hopkins replaced a broken external camera, upgraded two other cameras, and concluded a four-year campaign initiated by
Shane Kimbrough Robert Shane Kimbrough (born June 4, 1967) is a retired United States Army officer and NASA astronaut. He was part of the first group of candidates selected for NASA astronaut training following the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster. Kimbrou ...
and
Peggy Whitson Peggy Annette Whitson (born February 9, 1960) is an American biochemistry researcher, retired NASA astronaut, and former NASA Chief Astronaut. Whitson has a total of 665 days in space, more than any other woman or American. Her first space mi ...
on
Expedition 50 Expedition 50 was the 50th expedition to the International Space Station. Robert S. Kimbrough, Andrei Borisenko and Sergey Ryzhikov transferred from Expedition 49. Expedition 50 began upon the departure of Soyuz MS-01 on October 28, 2016 and ...
to replace the station's batteries. Crew-1 splashed down in the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
on May 2, 2021, after 167 days in space.


Personal life

Hopkins is married to Julie Hopkins (née Stutz) and has two sons. In 2013, Hopkins, formerly a communicant in the Methodist Church, was received into the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, joining his wife and his children who are Catholics. On his first mission to the ISS, his pastor arranged for him to bring the
Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
, so that he could have Communion once a week.


Awards and decorations


References


External links

*
Astronaut Bio: Michael S. Hopkins (03/2014)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Michael 1968 births Living people American aerospace engineers People from Lebanon, Missouri Grainger College of Engineering alumni Illinois Fighting Illini football players Stanford University alumni U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni United States Air Force astronauts United States Air Force officers United States Space Force astronauts United States Space Force officers Catholics from Missouri Converts to Roman Catholicism from Methodism SpaceX astronauts Spacewalkers