about.html

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<p>
    Mike Massimino, a former NASA astronaut, is a professor of mechanical engineering at
    Columbia University and the senior advisor for space programs at the Intrepid Sea, Air &amp; Space
    Museum. He received a BS from Columbia University, and MS degrees in mechanical
    engineering and in technology and policy, as well as a PhD in mechanical engineering, from the
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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<p>
    After working as an engineer at IBM, NASA, and McDonnell Douglas Aerospace, along with
    academic appointments at Rice University and at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Mike was
    selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1996, and is the veteran of two space flights, the fourth and
    fifth Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions in 2002 and 2009. Mike has a team record for
    the number of hours spacewalking in a single space shuttle mission, and he was also the first
    person to tweet from space. During his NASA career he received two NASA Space Flight
    Medals, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the American Astronautical Society’s Flight
    Achievement Award, and the Star of Italian Solidarity.
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<p>
    Mike has made numerous television appearances, including a six-time recurring role as himself
    on the CBS hit comedy <em>The Big Bang Theory</em>. He has hosted Science Channel’s <em>The Planets</em> and
    its special <em>Great American Eclipse</em>. He is featured in National Geographic Channel’s series <em>One
    Strange Rock</em> and is the host for Science Channel’s series <em>The Planets and Beyond</em>. He is a
    frequent guest on television news and talk show programs, including NBC’s <em>Today Show</em>, ABC’s
    <em>Good Morning America</em>, and CNN. He has also appeared on the <em>Late Show with David
    Letterman</em> and the <em>Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson</em>, and on <em>StarTalk</em> radio and television
    shows.
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<p>
    Mike’s book, <em>Spaceman: An Astronaut’s Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe</em>,
    has received rave reviews and is a <em>New York Times</em> best-seller. Mike&#39;s new book, <em>Spaceman: The
    True Story of a Young Boy’s Journey to Becoming an Astronaut</em>, a young adult version of his
    previously published autobiography, is scheduled for publication on April 7th, 2020. He is a
    recipient of the 2017 Christopher Award, the 2017 Columbia University Community Impact
    Outstanding Community Service Award, the 2017 National Space Club Communications Award,
    and in 2018 was inducted into the Long Island Air and Space Hall of Fame. The street that Mike
    grew up on in Franklin Square, Long Island has been renamed “Mike Massimino Street.”
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