Mike Massimino Biography

Former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino is a mechanical engineering professor at Columbia University and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum's senior advisor for space projects. He graduated with a BS in mechanical engineering from Columbia University, two MS degrees in technology and policy and mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. Massimino was chosen as an astronaut by NASA in 1996 after working as an engineer for IBM, NASA, and McDonnell Douglas Aerospace and holding academic positions at Rice University and the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has flown in space twice, on the fourth and fifth Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions in 2002 and 2009, respectively. Massimino was the first person to tweet from space and holds the team record for the longest spacewalk in a single space shuttle flight. He earned two NASA Space Flight Medals, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the Flight Achievement Award from the American Astronautical Society, and the Star of Italian Solidarity throughout his time with NASA. Massimino has been on a lot of television shows, including The Big Bang Theory on CBS, where he played himself in a six-time recurring role. The Planets and its special on the Great American Eclipse on Science Channel were anchored by him. In addition to hosting The Planets and Beyond on the Science Channel, he appears in the National Geographic Channel series One Strange Rock. He frequently appears as a guest on news and conversation shows on television, including CNN, ABC's Good Morning America, and NBC's Today Show. Additionally, he has made appearances on StarTalk radio and television programs as well as the Late Show with David Letterman and the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. A New York Times best-seller, Massimino's book Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe, has won praise from critics. In April 2020, his most recent book, Spaceman: The True Story of a Young Boy's Journey to Becoming an Astronaut, was released. He was honored in 2017 with the Christopher Award, in 2018 with the Long Island Air and Space Hall of Fame induction, and in 2017 with the National Space Club Communications Award and Columbia University Community Impact Outstanding Community Service Award. The Long Island street near Franklin Square where Massimino grew up has been renamed "Mike Massimino Street."

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