Michael L. Coats
Michael Lloyd Coats is an American naval aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, NASA astronaut, and former director of Johnson Space Center. Selected with NASA Astronaut Group 8 in 1978, he flew three shuttle missions and later became a senior NASA leader.
- Born
- January 16, 1946
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- Sacramento, California,United States
Flights
3
Spacewalks
0
EVA time
N/A
In space
19 days, 7 hours, 56 minutes
Bio
Coats entered NASA from the Navy test-pilot world. His aviation and engineering background fit the shuttle track, and he moved from pilot duties on his first mission to command roles on later flights.
He first flew as pilot on STS-41-D in 1984, the maiden flight of Discovery. Coats commanded STS-29 in 1989 and STS-39 in 1991.
Those missions included satellite deployment and a major unclassified Department of Defense payload suite. They show the shuttle's range across communications, research, and national-security-related missions.
After flight status, Coats led major aerospace organizations and served as director of Johnson Space Center from 2005 to 2012.