Michael Foale

Michael Foale
Michael Foale
LandUSA
OrganisationNASA
ausgewählt5. Juni 1987
(12. NASA-Gruppe)
Einsätze6 Raumflüge
Start des
ersten Raumflugs		24. März 1992
Landung des
letzten Raumflugs		30. April 2004
Zeit im Weltraum373d 18h 18min
EVA-Einsätze4
EVA-Gesamtdauer22h 44min
ausgeschiedenAugust 2013
Raumflüge

Colin Michael Foale CBE (* 6. Januar 1957 in Louth, Lincolnshire, Großbritannien) ist ein ehemaliger US-amerikanischer Astronaut, der ebenfalls britischer Staatsbürger ist. Bis 2008 war er der US-Amerikaner mit dem längsten Gesamtaufenthalt im All: 373 Tage, 18 Stunden und 18 Minuten, dann wurde dieser Rekord von Peggy Whitson gebrochen. Außerdem war Foale der erste Brite, der eine Außenbordtätigkeit absolvierte.

Foale erhielt an der Kings School in Canterbury eine humanistische Ausbildung. Sein Abschlusszeugnis erhielt er 1975. Danach besuchte er die Universität Cambridge. An deren Queens’ College studierte er zunächst Physik und erwarb 1978 einen Bachelor. Vier Jahre später promovierte er im Fach Astrophysik. Als begeisterter Sporttaucher nahm er während seiner Studienzeit an mehreren wissenschaftlichen Tauchprojekten teil, die er teilweise selbst organisierte.

Anfang der 1980er Jahre siedelte Foale in die USA über und nahm für kurze Zeit eine Tätigkeit bei McDonnell Douglas im texanischen Houston an, bevor er im Sommer 1983 im Johnson Space Center anfing. Er war im Flugkontrollzentrum bis zum Frühjahr 1986 für den Nutzlastbetrieb bei Shuttle-Missionen zuständig.

2003 wurde Foale Kommandant der ISS-Expedition 8 (zusammen mit dem Kosmonauten Alexander Kaleri). Sein sechsmonatiger Aufenthalt im All endete am 29. April 2004.

Mit diesem Flug zog er mit den Astronauten John Young, Story Musgrave, Jerry Ross, Franklin Chang-Diaz, Curtis Brown, Jim Wetherbee, gleich, die vor ihm sechs Raumflüge absolvieren durften.

Er wurde im Dezember 2004 zum Commander of the British Empire ernannt.

Foale verließ die NASA im August 2013, um ein elektrisches Flugzeug zu konstruieren, das die Kosten um 90 % senken soll. Außerdem ist er Berater der Inspiration-Mars-Stiftung.

Weblinks

Commons: Michael Foale – Album mit Bildern, Videos und Audiodateien
Personendaten
NAMEFoale, Michael
ALTERNATIVNAMENFoale, Colin Michael (vollständiger Name)
KURZBESCHREIBUNGUS-amerikanischer Astronaut
GEBURTSDATUM6. Januar 1957
GEBURTSORTLouth, Lincolnshire, England

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STS-45 Mission Insignia

Designed by the crewmembers, the STS-45 patch depicts the Space Shuttle launching from the Kennedy Space Center into a high inclination orbit. From this vantage point, the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS) payload can view Earth, the sun, and their dynamic interactions against the background of space. Earth is prominently displayed and is the focus of the mission's space plasma physics and Earth sciences observations. The colors of the setting sun, measured by sensitive instruments, provide detailed information about ozone, carbon dioxide and other gases which determine Earth's climate and environment. Encircling the scene are the names of the flight crewmembers. The additional star in the ring is to recognize Charles R. Chappell and Michael Lampton, alternate payload specialists, and the entire ATLAS-1 team for its dedication and support of this Mission to Planet Earth.
Soyuz TMA-3 Patch.png
Soyuz TMA-3 crew patch, designed by Luc van den Abeelen.
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STS-56 Mission Insignia

The STS-56 patch is a pictorial representation of the STS56/ATLAS-2 mission as seen from the crew's viewpoint. The payload bay is depicted with the ATLAS-2 pallet, Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultra Violet (SSBUV) experiment, and Spartan -- the two primary scientific payloads on the flight. With ATLAS-2 serving as part of the Mission to Planet Earth project, the crew has depicted the planet prominently in the artwork. Two primary areas of study are the atmosphere and the sun. To highlight this, Earth's atmosphere is depicted as a stylized visible spectrum and the sunrise is represented with an enlarged two-colored corona. Surnames of the commander and pilot are inscribed in the Earth field, with the surnames of the mission specialists appearing in the space background.
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STS-63 Mission Insignia

Designed by the crew members, the STS-63 crew patch depicts the orbiter maneuvering to rendezvous with Russia's Space Station Mir. The name is printed in Cyrillic on the side of the station. Visible in the Orbiter's payload bay are the commercial space laboratory Spacehab and the Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy (SPARTAN) satellite which are major payloads on the flight. The six points on the rising sun and the three stars are symbolic of the mission's Space Transportation System (STS) numerical designation. Flags of the United States and Russia at the bottom of the patch symbolize the cooperative operations of this mission.
STS-84 patch.svg
The STS-84 emblem depicts the Space Shuttle Atlantis launching into Earth orbit to join the Russian Space Station Mir as part of Phase One (Shuttle-Mir) of the International Space Station program. The names of the eight astronauts who flew onboard Atlantis, including the two who changed their positions onboard Mir for a long duration flight, are shown along the border of the patch. The STS-84/Mir-23 team will transfer 7,000 pounds of experiments, Station hardware, food and clothing to and from Mir during the five-day period of docking. The Phase One program is represented by the rising Sun and by the Greek letter Phi followed by one star. This sixth Shuttle-Mir docking mission is symbolized by the six stars surrounding the word Mir in Cyrillic characters. Combined, the seven stars symbolize the current configuration of Mir, composed of six modules launched by the Russians and one module brought up by Atlantis on a previous docking flight.
Expedition 8 insignia.svg
This emblem represents the eighth long-duration expedition to the International Space Station. The banner encircling the Earth, as a stylized figure 8, combines the flags of the partner nations represented by the crew. The International Space Station is portrayed above the Earth in its assembly complete configuration. The names of the two crewmembers, Michael Foale and Alexander Kaleri, are depicted in the border.
STS-103 Patch.svg
Designed by the crewmembers, the STS-103 emblem depicts the Space Shuttle Discovery approaching the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) prior to its capture and berthing. The purpose of the mission is to remove and replace some of the Telescope's older and out-of-date systems with newer, more reliable and more capable ones, and to make repairs to HST's exterior thermal insulation that has been damaged by more than nine years of exposure to the space environment. The horizontal and vertical lines centered on the Telescope symbolize the ability to reach and maintain a desired attitude in space, essential to the instrument's scientific operation. The preservation of this ability is one of the primary objectives of the mission. After the flight, the Telescope will resume its successful exploration of deep space and will continue to be used to study solar system objects, stars in the making, late phases of stellar evolution, galaxies and the early history of the universe. HST, as represented on this emblem was inspired by views from previous servicing missions, with its solar arrays illuminated by the Sun, providing a striking contrast with the blackness of space and the night side of Earth.
  • The NASA insignia design for Shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the form of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which is not anticipated, it will be publicly announced.