Michael James Foreman (born March 29, 1957) is a retired U.S. Navy pilot, NASA

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

, and local politician. While with NASA, Foreman was part of a mission that delivered the

Japanese Experiment Module Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and the Canadian Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator to the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

. Foreman was also a crewmember of the

STS-129 STS-129 (ISS assembly sequence, ISS assembly flight ULF3) was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). ''Space Shuttle Atlantis, Atlantis'' was launched on November 16, 2009, at 14:28 Eastern Time Zone, EST, and lan ...

mission in November 2009. In 2018, he was elected mayor of

Friendswood, Texas Friendswood is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area. The city lies in Galveston and Harris counties. As of the 2020 census, the population of Friendswood was 41,213. History Friendswood, s ...

; he was re-elected to a second 3-year term in 2021. He is running unopposed and will serve a third 3-year term beginning in 2024.

Background

Foreman was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, and grew up in

Wadsworth, Ohio Wadsworth is a city in Medina County, Ohio, United States. Founded on March 1, 1814, the city was named after General Elijah Wadsworth, a American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War hero and War of 1812 officer who owned the largest share of the ...

. He is married to Lorrie Dancer of

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. His wife Lorrie is a civil engineer. They have three children. He graduated from Wadsworth High School, Wadsworth, Ohio, in 1975; received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

Aerospace Engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

from the

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is the sec ...

in 1979, and a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in

Aeronautical Engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

from the U.S.

Naval Postgraduate School Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a Naval command with a graduate university mission, operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. The NPS mission is to provide "defense-focused graduate education, including clas ...

in 1986.

Military career

Foreman was designated a

Naval Aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

in January 1981 and assigned to Patrol Squadron 23 (

VP-23 VP-23, Patrol Squadron 23, known as the Seahawks, was a U.S. Navy fixed-wing, anti-submarine and maritime patrol squadron based at Brunswick Naval Air Station, Brunswick, Maine, United States. It was established as Weather Reconnaissance Squadr ...

) at

NAS Brunswick Naval Air Station Brunswick , also known as NAS Brunswick or the Brunswick Naval Air Station, was a military airport located southeast of Brunswick, Maine, with a number of Navy-operated maritime patrol aircraft. As of November 28, 2009, the l ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. He made deployments to

Rota, Spain The town of Rota is a Spanish municipality located in the Province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Its surface area is 84 km2 and is bordered by the towns of Chipiona, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María. It is located near the city of ...

; Lajes,

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

;

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. Following this tour he attended the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in

Monterey, California Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...

where he earned a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1986. As a graduate student, Foreman conducted thesis research at the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Ames Research Center The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laborat ...

Moffett Field, California Moffett Federal Airfield , also known as Moffett Field, is a joint civil-military airport located in an unincorporated part of Santa Clara County, California, United States, between northern Mountain View and northern Sunnyvale. On November ...

. Following graduation he was assigned as the Assistant Air Operations Officer aboard homeported in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

. In addition to his Air Operations duties, he flew as an

E-2 Hawkeye The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Grumman Aircraft ...

pilot with VAW-120 and VAW-127. Upon selection to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1989, he moved to NAS Patuxent River,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. He graduated in June 1990 and was assigned to the Force Warfare Aircraft Test Directorate. In 1991 he was reassigned as a flight instructor and the Operations Officer at U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. During his tenure there he instructed in the

F/A-18 The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, fighter and attack airc ...

P-3 Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. It is based on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner by Lockheed; it is e ...

, T-2,

T-38 Talon The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation. It was the world's first supersonic trainer as well as the most produced. The T-38 can be tra ...

, U-21, DHC-2 and the X-26 Frigate glider. In 1993, Foreman was assigned to the

Naval Air Systems Command The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) provides materiel support for aeronaval aircraft and airborne weapon systems for the United States Navy. It is one of the Echelon II Navy systems commands (SYSCOM), and was established in 1966 as the succe ...

Crystal City, Virginia Crystal City is an urban neighborhood in the southeastern corner of Arlington County, Virginia, approximately south of Downtown (Washington, D.C.), Downtown Washington, D.C. Due to its extensive integration of office buildings and residential h ...

, first as the deputy, and then as the Class Desk (Chief Engineer) Officer for the T-45 Goshawk aircraft program. Following that tour he returned to NAS Patuxent River, this time as the Military Director for the Research and Engineering Group of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. In addition to his duties at Patuxent River, he was assigned as the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

liaison to NASA's Advanced Orbiter Cockpit Project at the

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight in Houston, Texas (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight controller, flight control are conducted. ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. Foreman was working as the technical lead for the Advanced Orbiter Cockpit Project team when he was selected for the astronaut program as part of the 1998 class of 25 astronaut candidates. He has logged over 7,000 hours in more than 50 different aircraft.

NASA career

Selected by

in June 1998, he reported for training in August 1998. Astronaut Candidate Training included orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

and

systems, physiological training and ground school to prepare for T-38 flight training, as well as learning water and wilderness survival techniques. He was initially assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Space Station Branch where he represented the Astronaut Office on training issues. He was then assigned to the Space Shuttle Branch as a liaison between the Johnson Space Center and the

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...

, and also served as the Deputy, Space Shuttle Branch. Foreman_Satcher_EVA1_STS129

Foreman was selected as a mission specialist for the STS-123 mission in January 2007. The

STS-123 STS-123 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which was flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour, Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. STS-123 was the 1J/A Assembly of the International Space Station, ISS assembly mission. The orig ...

Endeavour mission launched in November 2008 and delivered the

and the Canadian Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator to the International Space Station. During the mission, Foreman performed three Extrvehicular Activities (EVAs): the first in support of assembly of Dextre; the second to assess experimental tile materials; and the third to relocate the Orbiter Boom Sensor System. Foreman was also a crewmember of the

mission in November 2009. STS-129 was the first flight of an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier that are designed to support equipment deliveries for the International Space Station. As a mission specialist on the flight, Foreman performed two additional EVAs bringing his total experience between two flights to five spacewalks. The two spacewalks added 12 hours and 45 minutes to his EVA time A veteran of two space flights, Foreman has logged more than 637 hours in space, including 32 hours and 19 minutes of EVA in five spacewalks. Foreman retired from NASA in July 2015 after a 35 year career in U.S. Government service between the U.S. Navy and NASA.

Post-government service

Retiring from NASA, Foreman joined Venturi Outcomes, LLC, a Houston-based construction project management and consulting firm started by his wife. He was elected to the Friendswood Texas City Council in 2016. In 2018, Foreman was elected mayor of

. He ran unopposed and was re-elected to a second three-year term in 2021.

Awards and honors

Foreman is a member of the Association of Naval Aviation, United States Naval Academy Alumni Association, the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and the Association of Space Explorers. He has received the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

Defense Meritorious Service Medal The Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM) is an award bestowed upon members of the United States military by the United States Department of Defense. In the order of precedence of the United States Armed Forces, it is worn between the Purple ...

, Meritorious Service Medal,

Navy Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

; Navy Achievement Medal and various other service awards. He graduated with Distinction from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School; received the Admiral William Adger Moffett Aeronautics Award, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School; was a Distinguished Graduate from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School; and received the Empire Test Pilots School-sponsored award for best final report (DT-IIA) while at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.

References

External links

Spacefacts biography of Michael Foreman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foreman, Michael 1957 births Living people United States Navy astronauts NASA civilian astronauts People from Columbus, Ohio People from Wadsworth, Ohio United States Naval Academy alumni Naval Postgraduate School alumni United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni United States Navy officers United States Naval Aviators Recipients of the Legion of Merit Space Shuttle program astronauts Spacewalkers