Michael Lopez-Alegria
Michael Lopez-Alegria has over thirty-five years of aviation and space experience with the U.S. Navy and NASA in a variety of roles including Naval Aviator, engineering test pilot and program manager, NASA astronaut, and International Space Station commander. He is a four-time astronaut, having flown on Space Shuttle missions STS- 73, STS-92, and STS- 113, and serving as Commander of ISS Expedition 14 (flying to and from the ISS aboard Soyuz TMA-9). He holds NASA records for most Extravehicular Activities (EVA) or “space walks” (10) and cumulative EVA time (67 hours 40 minutes). Lopez-Alegria is the former President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, where he was a spokesman, thought leader and advocate with the U.S. Congress and pertinent Executive Agencies for favorable public policy on behalf of the commercial spaceflight industry. He is now an independent consultant to traditional and commercial space companies, and serves on several advisory boards and committees of public and private organizations, including the Human Exploration and Operations Committee of the NASA Advisory Council and the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee to the FAA. Lopez-Alegria is the President of the Association of Space Explorers USA, a professional and educational organization of current and former astronauts. He is based in Washington, DC.