Veteran astronaut Michael Bloomfield, a three-time space flier and senior manager in the agency’s flight crew operations, is leaving NASA.
Bloomfield has served as deputy director of flight crew operations at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston since 2006. Selected as an astronaut in 1994, he piloted two shuttle missions and commanded a third, accumulating more than 750 hours in space. His first flight was as pilot of mission STS-86 in 1997, a mission that docked with the Russian Space Station Mir. Bloomfield flew again as pilot of STS-97 in 2000, an International Space Station assembly mission. His final flight was as commander of STS-110 in 2002, a mission that installed the first piece of the truss structure to the space station.
In NASA’s Astronaut Office, Bloomfield also has served in a variety of technical roles, including chief of safety, chief instructor, director of shuttle operations and chief of the shuttle branch.
?In addition to possessing superb operational skills, Mike is an exceptional leader,? said Ellen Ochoa, director of flight crew operations at Johnson. ?I learned a great deal from watching him command a mission, and I will greatly miss his wise counsel as a key member of our flight crew management team.?
Bloomfield, an Air Force colonel, is a Michigan native. He has a bachelor’s degree from the Air Force Academy and a master?s degree from Old Dominion University.
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