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Anderson, Michael Philip

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Anderson Credit: www.spacefacts.de

Status: Deceased; Active 1994-2003. Born: 1959-12-25. Died: 2003-02-01. Spaceflights: 2 . Total time in space: 24.76 days. Birth Place: New York.

Grew up in Spokane, Washington. Educated Washington; Creighton.

Official NASA Biography as of June 2016:MICHAEL P. ANDERSON (LIEUTENANT COLONEL, USAF)
ASTRONAUT (DECEASED)

PERSONAL DATA: Born December 25, 1959, in Plattsburgh, New York, but considered Spokane, Washington, to be his hometown. Died on February 1, 2003 over the southern United States when Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew perished during entry, 16 minutes prior to scheduled landing. He is survived by his wife and children. Michael enjoyed photography, chess, computers, and tennis.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Cheney High School in Cheney, Washington, in 1977. Bachelor of science degree in physics/astronomy from University of Washington, 1981. Master of science degree in physics from Creighton University, 1990.

AWARDS: Posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the NASA Space Flight Medal, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (DDSM).

SPECIAL HONORS: Distinguished graduate USAF Communication Electronics Officers course. Recipient of the Armed Forces Communication Electronics Associations Academic Excellence Award 1983. Received the USAF Undergraduate Pilot Training Academic Achievement Award for Class 87-08 Vance AFB. Awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, the USAF Meritorious Service Medal, and the USAF Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster.

EXPERIENCE: Anderson graduated form the University of Washington in 1981 and was commissioned a second lieutenant. After completing a year of technical training at Keesler AFB Mississippi he was assigned to Randolph AFB Texas. At Randolph he served as Chief of Communication Maintenance for the 2015 Communication Squadron and later as Director of Information System Maintenance for the 1920 Information System Group. In 1986 he was selected to attend Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance AFB, Oklahoma. Upon graduation he was assigned to the 2nd Airborne Command and Control Squadron, Offutt AFB Nebraska as an EC 135 pilot, flying the Strategic Air Commands airborne command post code-named “Looking Glass”. From January 1991 to September 1992 he served as an aircraft commander and instructor pilot in the 920th Air Refueling Squadron, Wurtsmith AFB Michigan. From September 1992 to February 1995 he was assigned as an instructor pilot and tactics officer in the 380 Air Refueling Wing, Plattsburgh AFB New York. Anderson logged over 3000 hours in various models of the KC-135 and the T-38A aircraft.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in December 1994, Anderson reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995. He completed a year of training and evaluation, and was qualified for flight crew assignment as a mission specialist. Anderson was initially assigned technical duties in the Flight Support Branch of the Astronaut Office. Anderson flew on STS-89 and STS-107, logging over 593 hours in space.

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-89 Endeavour (January 22-31, 1998), was the eighth Shuttle-Mir docking mission during which the crew transferred more than 9,000 pounds of scientific equipment, logistical hardware and water from the Space Shuttle to Mir. In the fifth and last exchange of a U.S. astronaut, STS-89 delivered Andy Thomas to Mir and returned with David Wolf. Mission duration was 8 days, 19 hours and 47 seconds, traveling 3.6 million miles in 138 orbits of the Earth.

STS-107 Columbia (January 16 to February 1, 2003). The 16-day flight was a dedicated science and research mission. Working 24 hours a day, in two alternating shifts, the crew successfully conducted approximately 80 experiments. The STS-107 mission ended abruptly on February 1, 2003 when Space Shuttle Columbia and the crew perished during entry, 16 minutes before scheduled landing. Mission duration was 15 days, 22 hours and 20 minutes.

MAY 2004

Official NASA Biography - 1997

NAME: Michael P. Anderson (Major, USAF)

NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA:

Born December 25, 1959, in Plattsburgh, New York. Considers Spokane, Washington, to be his hometown. Married. Enjoys photography, chess, computers, and tennis.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from Cheney High School in Cheney, Washington, in 1977. Bachelor of science degree in physics/astronomy from University of Washington, 1981. Master of science degree in physics from Creighton University, 1990.

SPECIAL HONORS:

Distinguished graduate USAF Communication Electronics Officers course. Recipient of the Armed Forces Communication Electronics Associations Academic Excellence Award 1983. Received the USAF Undergraduate Pilot Training Academic Achievement Award for Class 87-08 Vance AFB. Awarded the USAF Meritorious Service Medal, and the USAF Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster.

EXPERIENCE:

Anderson graduated form the University of Washington in 1981 and was commissioned a second lieutenant. After completing a year of technical training at Keesler AFB Mississippi he was assigned to Randolph AFB Texas. At Randolph he served as Chief of Communication Maintenance for the 2015 Communication Squadron and later as Director of Information System Maintenance for the 1920 Information System Group. In 1986 he was selected to attend Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance AFB, Oklahoma. Upon graduation he was assigned to the 2nd Airborne Command and Control Squadron, Offutt AFB Nebraska as a EC 135 pilot, flying the Strategic Air Commands airborne command post code named "Looking Glass". From January 1991 to September 1992 he served as an aircraft commander and instructor pilot in the 920th Air Refueling Squadron, Wurtsmith AFB Michigan. From September 1992 to February 1995 he was assigned as a instructor pilot and tactics officer in the 380 Air Refueling Wing, Plattsburgh AFB New York. Anderson has logged over 3000 hours in various models of the KC-135 and the T-38A aircraft.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

Selected by NASA in December 1994, Anderson reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995. He completed a year of training and evaluation, and is qualified for flight crew assignment as a mission specialist. Anderson was initially assigned technical duties in the Flight Support Branch of the Astronaut Office. Most recently, he flew on the crew of STS-89. In completing his first space flight Anderson has logged over 211 hours in space.

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE:

STS-89 (January 22-31, 1998), was the eighth Shuttle-Mir docking mission during which the crew transferred more than 8,000 pounds of scientific equipment, logistical hardware and water from Space Shuttle Endeavour to Mir. In the fifth and last exchange of a U.S. astronaut, STS-89 delivered Andy Thomas to Mir and returned with David Wolf. Mission duration was 8 days, 19 hours and 47 seconds, traveling 3.6 million miles in 138 orbits of the Earth.

• Birth of Michael Phillip Anderson - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson. American physicist mission specialist astronaut 1994-2003. Perished in Columbia shuttle disintegration during re-entry. 2 spaceflights, 24.8 days in space. Flew to orbit on STS-89 (1998), STS-107..

• NASA Astronaut Training Group 15 selected. - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Altman, Anderson, Ashby, Bloomfield, Chawla, Curbeam, Edwards, Joe, Gorie, Hire, Husband, Kavandi, Kilrain, Lindsey, Lu, Melroy, Noriega, Reilly, Robinson, Sturckow.

  The group was selected to provide pilot, engineer, and scientist astronauts for space shuttle flights.. Qualifications: Pilots: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Advanced degree desirable. At least 1,000 flight-hours of pilot-in-command time. Flight test experience desirable. Excellent health. Vision minimum 20/50 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 vision; maximum sitting blood pressure 140/90. Height between 163 and 193 cm.

  Mission Specialists: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics and minimum three years of related experience or an advanced degree. Vision minimum 20/150 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20. Maximum sitting blood pressure of 140/90. Height between 150 and 193 cm.. 10 pilots and 9 mission specialists, 6 civilians and 13 military officers, chosen from 2,962 applicants, of which 122 screened in June-August 1994. 4 additional international astronauts.

• STS-89 - . Call Sign: Endeavour. Crew: Anderson, Dunbar, Edwards, Joe, Reilly, Sharipov, Thomas, Andrew, Wilcutt. Payload: Endeavour F12 / Spacehab Double Module. Mass: 116,277 kg (256,346 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Dunbar, Edwards, Joe, Reilly, Sharipov, Thomas, Andrew, Wilcutt. Agency: NASA Houston. Manufacturer: Douglas. Program: Mir. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: Soyuz TM-26, STS-86 Mir NASA-5, STS-89, STS-89 Mir NASA-6. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Endeavour. Duration: 8.82 days. Decay Date: 1998-01-31 . USAF Sat Cat: 25143 . COSPAR: 1998-003A. Apogee: 382 km (237 mi). Perigee: 359 km (223 mi). Inclination: 51.60 deg. Period: 92.00 min.

  Penultimate Shuttle mission to Mir. Andy Thomas replaced David Wolf as the resident NASA astronaut. Endeavour docked with the SO module on Mir at 20:14 GMT on January 24, 1998.

  Payloads included:

  • Orbiter middeck: CEBAS (German/US biological module with fish and snails); dinosaur skull (part of a museum educational program)
  • Bay 1: Tunnel Adapter
  • Bay 3: Orbiter Docking System/External Airlock
  • Bay 4-7: Transfer Tunnel
  • Bay 8-12: Spacehab Double Module (payloads included supplies for Mir, X-ray crystallography detector planned for the International Space Station)
  • Bay 13P: Getaway Special GABA carrier with G-141, G-145 (German materials processing experiments)
  • Bay 13S: Getaway Special GABA carrier with G-093 (University of Michigan fluid dynamics experiment), G-432 (Chinese materials processing experiment)

  Despite fits problems with his Sokol emergency spacesuit, Andy Thomas replaced David Wolf as a Mir crew member on January 25. Endeavour undocked from Mir on January 29 at 16:57 GMT and made one flyaround of the station before departing and landing at Kennedy Space Center's runway 15 at 22:35 GMT on January 31.

• Landing of STS-89 - . Return Crew: Anderson, Dunbar, Edwards, Joe, Reilly, Sharipov, Wilcutt, Wolf. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Dunbar, Edwards, Joe, Reilly, Sharipov, Wilcutt, Wolf. Program: Mir. Flight: Soyuz TM-26, Soyuz TM-27, Soyuz TM-27 Mir Pegase, STS-86 Mir NASA-5, STS-89, STS-89 Mir NASA-6. STS-89 landed at 22:35 GMT with the crew of Wilcutt, Edwards, Reilly, Anderson, Wolf, Dunbar and Sharipov aboard..

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #02 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. Columbia's crewmembers unstowed equipment and began activation of the Spacehab Research Double Module in the shuttle's cargo bay, setting the stage for 24-hour-a-day science during the shuttle's 16-day research mission.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #01 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. Columbia lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center this morning on the first shuttle mission of the year, carrying the first Israeli astronaut into orbit along with six crewmates on a marathon international scientific research flight.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 - . Call Sign: Columbia. Crew: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Payload: Columbia F28 / Spacehab. Mass: 115,900 kg (255,500 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Agency: NASA. Manufacturer: Boeing. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-107. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Columbia. Duration: 15.94 days. Decay Date: 2003-02-01 . USAF Sat Cat: 27647 . COSPAR: 2003-003A. Apogee: 276 km (171 mi). Perigee: 263 km (163 mi). Inclination: 39.00 deg. Period: 89.90 min. The last solo shuttle earth orbit mission ended in tragedy when the shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry at an altitude of 63.15 km and a speed of Mach 18. Launch delayed from May 23, June 27, July 11 and 19, November 29, 2002..

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #03 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. In their first full day in orbit, Columbia's seven crewmembers completed activation of the SPACEHAB Research Double Module in the shuttle's cargo bay and all of its scientific experiments.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #04 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6.

  Space shuttle Columbia's astronauts pointed two Israeli cameras over the Atlantic and the Mediterranean today in search of small dust particles that might impact the weather and began experiments in human life sciences in the third day of the STS-107 scientific research flight. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #05 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon, Ross. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. Columbia's astronauts studied combustion properties and the response of their own bodies in weightlessness and the behavior of soot in space one-quarter of the way through their marathon scientific research mission.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #06 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon, Ross. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6.

  Columbia's astronauts conducted scientific studies ranging from the behavior of granular materials in weightlessness to the effects of microgravity on fungi, and filmed the sprites associated with thunderstorms across the globe as their scientific research flight continued in its fifth day. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #07 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. The seven astronauts aboard Columbia continued to conduct scientific studies 24-7 today, concentrating their efforts on combustion in weightlessness, the growth of cell cultures, and measurements of the ozone layer.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #08 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6.

  The seven astronauts aboard Columbia beamed down television views of their smallest companions in orbit today, including insects, spiders, fish, bees and silk worms that are part of the Space Technology and Research Students package of experiments designed and developed by students in six countries. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #09 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. The STS-107 scientific research mission aboard Columbia passed the halfway mark today as the 80 microgravity investigations continue on schedule.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #10 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. Research continued aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia today as the seven astronauts aboard continued to work in shifts, coordinating work with investigators on the ground.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #11 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon, Tani. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6.

  Space shuttle Columbia's astronauts completed an experiment studying the activity of bone cells in microgravity and began final tests with a technology demonstration designed to investigate the behavior of capillary-pumped loops in space as the 16-day international science mission completed Flight Day 10. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #12 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. Scientific research continued aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia today as the STS-107 mission headed into the homestretch with a variety of experiments in multiple disciplines.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #13 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. Some experiments have run their course aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, but there is more in store as STS-107 science continues around the clock in the Spacehab Research Double Module.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #14 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6.

  The Red team of astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia accomplished repairs on the third and final combustion experiment of STS-107 this afternoon, and support scientists on the ground were looking forward to working with the Blue team on the first scientific runs. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #15 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. Columbia's seven astronauts took a break from their around-the-clock scientific research today to answer reporters' questions in the traditional on-orbit crew news conference.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #17 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. Columbia crewmembers deactivated experiments and began stowing gear to prepare for their scheduled Saturday landing at the Kennedy Space Center.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #19 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. The Space Shuttle Columbia and its seven astronauts were lost today when the vehicle broke up over north central Texas during its reentry from orbit.. Additional Details: here....

• Loss of STS-107 - . Return Crew: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Program: STS. Flight: STS-107.

  The shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry at an altitude of 63.15 km and a speed of Mach 18. All hands aboard were lost. The loss grounded the shuttle fleet pending a failure investigation and left the crew of Bowersox, Pettit and Budarin aboard the International Space Station with a Soyuz emergency return vehicle but without means of major station resupply.

• Death of Michael Philip Anderson. - . Related Persons: Anderson. American physicist mission specialist astronaut 1994-2003. Perished in Columbia shuttle disintegration during re-entry. 2 spaceflights, 24.8 days in space. Flew to orbit on STS-89 (1998), STS-107..

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #20 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Cabana, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6.

  Aided by federal and local agencies, NASA stepped up its inquiry into the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and its seven astronauts. Multiple investigative teams continue to pore over engineering data in an effort to uncover the cause of the breakup of the orbiter over Texas on Saturday 16 minutes from landing. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #21 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-113 ISS EO-6. NASA engineers continued to review data and recover debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia today as the analysis of what caused the orbiter to break up Saturday en route to landing continued.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-107 MCC Status Report #22 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-113 ISS EO-6.

  As NASA paused to pay tribute to Columbia's astronauts, the agency reported making "considerable progress" in recovering debris from the Space Shuttle and analyzing data in the search for clues to what caused the orbiter to breakup 16 minutes before its landing last Saturday. Additional Details: here....