Astronaut Michael McCulley, official NASA photograph

Biography of Michael J. McCulley (Captain, USN, Retired)

Publisher: NASA    (publication date June, 1990)

BIRTHPLACE AND DATE: Born August 4, 1943, in San Diego, California, but considers Livingston, Tennessee, to be his hometown. His parents, Mr. & Mrs. Gilson H. McCulley, are both deceased.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Brown hair; blue eyes; height: 6 feet 1 inch; weight: 185 pounds.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Livingston Academy, Livingston, Tennessee, in 1961; received a bachelor of science degree and a master of science degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Purdue University in 1970.

MARITAL STATUS: Married to the former Jane Emalie Thygeson of Melbourne, Florida.

CHILDREN: Marla Danielle, October 30, 1968; Marcy Deanna, January 19, 1972; Cynthia Lynn, March 24, 1975; Robyn Marie, December 16, 1978; Sarah Emalie, July 10, 1986.

RECREATIONAL INTERESTS: He enjoys skiing, reading, camping, and jogging.

ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the Association of Space Explorers, and Tau Beta Pi.

SPECIAL HONORS: Awarded the NASA Space Flight Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Navy Good Conduct Medal, Sea Service Ribbon, National Defense Medal, Small Arms Expert Ribbon, and the Battle “E” Ribbon.

EXPERIENCE: After graduation from high school, McCulley enlisted in the U.S. Navy and subsequently served on one diesel powered and two nuclear powered submarines. In 1965 he entered Purdue University, and in January 1970, received his Naval Officers commission and both degrees. Following flight training, he served tours of duty in A-4 and A-6 aircraft, and was selected to attend the Empire Test Pilots School in Great Britain. He served in a variety of test pilot billets at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland, before returning to sea duty on USS SARATOGA and USS NIMITZ.

He has flown over 50 aircraft types, logging over 5,000 flying hours, and has nearly 400 carrier landings from six aircraft carriers.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in May 1984, McCulley completed a one-year training and evaluation program in June 1985, qualifying him for assignment as a pilot on future Space Shuttle flight crews. His technical assignments to date include having served as the Astronaut Office weather coordinator, the Flight Crew representative to the Shuttle Requirements Control Board, Technical Assistant to the Director of Flight Crew Operations, and currently, as lead of the Astronaut Support Team at the Kennedy Space Center.

McCulley was the pilot on STS-34. The crew aboard Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on October 18, 1989, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on October 23, 1989. During the mission crew members successfully deployed the Galileo spacecraft on its journey to explore Jupiter, operated the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Instrument (SSBUV) to map atmospheric ozone, and performed numerous secondary experiments involving radiation measurements, polymer morphology, lightning research, microgravity effects on plants, and a student experiment on ice crystal growth in space. Mission duration was 79 orbits of the earth. With the completion of this flight, Commander McCulley has logged a total of 119 hours and 41 minutes in space.

Source: https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/persons/astronauts/m-to-p/McCulleyMJ.txt