Michael J. McCulley was born on August 4, 1943, in San Diego, California. His family moved to Overton County, Tennessee, after the tragic death of his father. He graduated from Livingston Academy in 1961 and enlisted in the Navy where he served on one diesel-powered and two nuclear-powered submarines. In 1965, Mike entered Purdue University where he received a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in Metallurgical Engineering in 1970 along with his Officer’s commission in the Navy. Following flight training, he served tours of duty in A-4 Skyhawk and A-6 Intruder aircraft and was selected to attend the Empire Test Pilots' School in Great Britain. He served in a variety of test pilots billets at the Naval Air Test Center, Naval Air Station 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.
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 included: Astronaut Office weather coordinator; flight crew representative to the Shuttle Requirements Control Board; Technical Assistant to the Director of Flight Crew Operations; lead of the Astronaut Support Team at the Kennedy Space Center. He flew on STS-34 in 1989 and has logged a total of 119 hours and 41 minutes in space. McCulley was the pilot on mission 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 4 days, 23 hours, 41 minutes.
In October 1990, following his retirement from NASA and the Navy, McCulley was employed by Lockheed Martin Space Operations and served as Vice President and Deputy Launch Site Director for the Kennedy Space Center. He was promoted to Director in November 1995. McCulley next served as Vice President and Associate Program Manager for USA's (United Space Alliance) Ground Operations at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Named to this position on June 1, 1996, he was responsible for directing the integration of all processing activities associated with America's Space Shuttle program. In November 1999, McCulley was named Chief Operating Officer (COO) of United Space Alliance (USA). In this role, he had primary responsibility for the day-to-day operations and overall management of USA, the Prime Contractor for the Space Shuttle program. Prior to being named COO, McCulley was Vice President and Deputy Program Manager for the Space Flight Operations Contract (SFOC), where he assisted USA's Vice President and Program Manager in the management of the Space Shuttle program. On May 15, 2003, McCulley was named President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of United Space Alliance. On September 28, 2007, McCulley retired from his position as CEO of United Space Alliance.
Mike has been involved with several organizations throughout his life. He was a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the Association of Space Explorers, the Boy Scouts of America (Eagle Scout), and Tau Beta Pi. Active in community affairs, he served on the curriculum advisory committee for the engineering school at Purdue University, and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Clear Lake Regional Medical Center.
Mike has received the following special honors: Awarded the Legion of Merit, Defense Superior Service Medal, NASA Space Flight Medal, Navy Commendation medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, National Defense Medal, Small Arms Expert Ribbon, and the Child Advocate of the Year Award for the state of Florida from the Children’s Home Society, an organization dedicated to services for children and young mothers.
Mike is married to the former Jane Emalie Thygeson of Melbourne, Florida, and they have six children and twelve grandchildren.
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