NASA astronaut Michael Foale announced his retirement last week after a 26-year- long career with the space agency.
Michael Foale's stint with the space agency included 375 days in space during six space shuttle missions and extended stays aboard two space stations. He spent 145 days aboard the Russian space station Mir in 1997 and 194 days aboard the International Space Station as commander of Expedition 8 from October 2003 to April 2004. He also conducted four spacewalks over his NASA career totaling almost 23 hours.
"We salute Mike and his contributions to NASA as an accomplished member of the astronaut corps," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden in a press statement. "Starting with his first flight, shuttle mission STS-45, when we flew together in 1992, Mike has worked tirelessly to support NASA's quest to explore the unknown. I know Mike will go on to do more great things as he continues to support the aerospace industry in his new endeavor."
Foale also holds the title of being the first British to perform a space walk and is said to be the most experienced British-born astronaut in human spaceflight history.
Born in Lincolnshire in 1957, Michael Foale completed his doctorate in laboratory astrophysics from Queens' College in 1978. He then moved to Texas to pursue a career at McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Corporation working on Space Shuttle navigation problems for the company. In June 1983, Foale joined NASA Johnson Space Center and thus began his 26-year long career with the space agency.
According to a Wired report, the astronaut announced his retirement after deciding to help build an electric aircraft while working on advancing green aviation technology.
