Michael López-Alegría is a decorated astronaut who returned to low Earth orbit for the fifth time in 2022 as Commander of Axiom Mission 1, having accumulated 275 days in space. “Mike L-A” (as he is known in the space community) is involved in both operational and commercial development efforts within Axiom Space.
He has more than 40 years of aviation and space experience with the US Navy and NASA in a variety of roles, including Naval Aviator, Engineering Test Pilot and Program Manager, NASA Astronaut and Commander of the International Space Station. He also holds NASA records for most ExtraVehicular Activities (EVAs) or “spacewalks” (10) and cumulative EVA time (67 hours, 40 minutes). He was inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2021.
Mike L-A is the former President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, where he was a spokesperson, thought leader, and advocate before the US Congress and relevant Executive Agencies for favorable public policy on behalf of the commercial spaceflight industry. He has served on several public and private organization advisory boards and committees, including the NASA Advisory Council Human Exploration and Operations Committee and the FAA Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC), and is the current chair of the ASTM International Committee. in commercial spaceflight, as well as past president of the Association of Space Explorers. He received a B.S. in systems engineering at the United States Naval Academy and an M.S. in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School.
In addition, López Alegría, born in Madrid, is the first astronaut born in Spain to travel to space. He has dual nationality, American and Spanish.