Flew On Two Shuttle Missions, Assisted In Commercial Crew Program

Veteran NASA astronaut Michael Good is retiring from NASA after flying two space shuttle missions and helping the Commercial Crew Program get off the ground. After 35 years of government service in the U.S. Air Force and at NASA, May 31 was his last day with the agency.

"Mike's vision and execution for the Commercial Crew Program's Joint Test Team has been critical to the maturing of each of the providers' crew cabins," Kathy Lueders, Commercial Crew Program manager, said. "Mike had the dream of bringing the best of NASA to work side by side with the best of Boeing and SpaceX to find the safest and most practical solutions to the inevitable trades that need to be made. His leadership will be sorely missed but he set the right trajectory for us and now it will be our job to make him proud."

Good came to NASA from the U.S. Air Force, where he achieved the rank of colonel before retiring in 2009. He was selected as an astronaut in 2000 and flew first to the Hubble Space Telescope aboard space shuttle Atlantis as part of the STS-125 mission in 2009. Good took part in two of the five spacewalks to upgrade and repair the telescope on the fifth and final Hubble servicing mission. He racked up 15 hours, 58 minutes of spacewalking time.

He added another 13 hours, 55 minutes spacewalking outside the International Space Station in 2010, when he visited as part of Atlantis' STS-132 mission. He and his crewmates delivered a rack of cargo and the Russian-built research module Rassvet, as well as replacing batteries for the station's solar arrays.

Good spent a total of 24 days, 16 hours and 5 minutes in space over the course of the two shuttle missions.

Following his second flight, Good served as the NASA liaison to the Air Force Space Command in Colorado. On his return, he joined NASA's Commercial Crew Program as assistant to the program manager for crew operations and testing. In that role he has helped SpaceX and Boeing prepare to launch NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.

Good was born in Parma, Ohio, but considers Broadview Heights, Ohio, his hometown. He earned both bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

(Source: NASA news release. Image provided by NASA)

FMI: www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/good_michael.pdf