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Notable people · Aviation Space · Military · Politics

Michael J. Foreman

Wadsworth-raised Navy test pilot who applied to NASA eight times, made five spacewalks on two shuttle flights in 2008 and 2009, and later became mayor of Friendswood, Texas.

Born March 29, 1957, Columbus

Michael J. Foreman
Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Born
March 29, 1957, Columbus (Franklin County) source
Also known as
Michael J. Foreman, Mike Foreman
Known as
Aviation Space, Military, Politics

Michael J. Foreman is living. This page covers their public life only, from published sources. Correct this page · hello@crackedbuckeye.com

Life story

Mike Foreman was born in Columbus in 1957 and grew up in Wadsworth in Medina County, where he played football and baseball and graduated from Wadsworth High School in 1975. He wanted to be an astronaut from the age of eight, and because the Ohio astronauts he read about in the 1960s were naval aviators, he set out to become one. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1979, flew patrol planes and carrier operations, and became a Navy test pilot and instructor at Patuxent River. NASA turned him down seven times before selecting him in 1998. He flew on STS-123 in March 2008, helping to assemble the Canadian Dextre robot on three spacewalks, and on STS-129 in November 2009, with two more. Between 2010 and 2011 he worked in Ohio again as chief of external programs at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. He retired from NASA in 2015 and entered local politics in Friendswood, Texas, where he has been mayor since 2018.

Ohio ties

  • Columbus (1957)
    birthplace Franklin County · source
  • Wadsworth (to 1975)
    hometown; Wadsworth High School class of 1975, where he played football and baseball and took photographs for the student paper, The Bruin Medina County · source
  • NASA Glenn Research Center, Brook Park/Cleveland (2010-2011)
    chief of external programs, June 2010 to May 2011 Cuyahoga County · source

Timeline

  1. 1957 Born in Columbus on 29 March. source
  2. 1975 Graduated from Wadsworth High School. source
  3. 1979 Graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in aerospace engineering. source
  4. 1981 Designated a naval aviator in January and assigned to Patrol Squadron 23 at NAS Brunswick, Maine. source
  5. 1986 Received an M.S. in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, with thesis research at NASA Ames. source
  6. 1990 Graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in June as a distinguished graduate, and from 1991 taught there as flight instructor and operations officer. source
  7. 1993 Assigned to Naval Air Systems Command as deputy and then class desk (chief engineer) officer for the T-45 Goshawk trainer. source
  8. 1998 Selected by NASA as an astronaut and moved his family to Friendswood, Texas. source
  9. 2008 Flew on STS-123 (Endeavour), 11-26 March, which delivered the first pressurised section of Japan's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Dextre robot; made three spacewalks totalling 19 hours 34 minutes. source
  10. 2009 Retired from the Navy in June as a captain. source
  11. 2009 Flew on STS-129, 16-29 November, delivering two ExPRESS Logistics Carriers with about 30,000 pounds of spare parts; made two spacewalks totalling 12 hours 45 minutes. source
  12. 2010 Became chief of external programs at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, serving from June 2010 to May 2011. source
  13. 2015 Retired from NASA on 31 July after serving as Safety Branch chief in the Astronaut Office and working on the Commercial Crew programme. source
  14. 2016 Elected to the Friendswood, Texas, city council. source
  15. 2018 Elected mayor of Friendswood in May; his current term runs from May 2024 to May 2027. source
  16. 2024 Talked to Wadsworth High School's student newspaper, The Bruin, about growing up in Wadsworth and his path to space. source

Stories

Eight applications

Foreman told Wadsworth High School's student paper in 2024 that he wanted to be an astronaut from the age of eight. Following news coverage of Ohio's early astronauts in the 1960s, he noticed that they were all naval aviators and decided that was his route. He took college-prep courses at Wadsworth High, played football and baseball, and took photographs at games for The Bruin with a Polaroid camera. He became a Navy pilot and test pilot, and applied to NASA eight times before he was accepted in 1998. He said he was proud to be from Wadsworth, 'not Cleveland or Akron', and credited the town's supportive spirit.

Source

Assembling Dextre

Foreman's first flight, STS-123 in March 2008, was a night launch and landing and the 25th shuttle assembly mission to the International Space Station. Endeavour brought up the first pressurised piece of Japan's Kibo laboratory and the last part of the station's Mobile Servicing System, the Canadian-built robot Dextre. Foreman made three spacewalks on the flight, 19 hours 34 minutes in all. The mission lasted nearly 16 days and covered more than 6.5 million miles. On STS-129 the next year he made two more spacewalks, bringing his total to five and 32 hours 19 minutes.

Source

Back in Ohio at Glenn

In the middle of his NASA career Foreman spent a year back in northeast Ohio. From June 2010 to May 2011 he was chief of external programs at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, the agency's Ohio field centre, before returning to the Astronaut Office in Houston to work on commercial crew and then as Safety Branch chief. NASA announced his retirement on 30 July 2015, quoting Astronaut Office chief Chris Cassidy: 'Mike is a great American who has served our nation for 35 years.'

Source

Sites to know

Homes, graves, markers, museums and monuments; the numbered ones are on the map.

12
  • 1 Wadsworth High School, 625 Broad Street (class of 1975)
    Wadsworth Medina County · source
  • 2 NASA Glenn Research Center, where Foreman was chief of external programs in 2010-2011
    Brook Park/Cleveland Cuyahoga County · source

Ohio places

Where Michael J. Foreman was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Documents

Primary records: patents, letters, court and government files, nominations and old county histories, each at the archive that holds it.

Pictures

Free to use with the credit shown. Select a picture for the original and its license.

  • At Cape Canaveral Air Station, members of the 1998 astronaut candidate class (Group 17) pose in front of what remains of
    At Cape Canaveral Air Station, members of the 1998 astronaut candidate class (Group 17) pose in front of what ...
    Public domain
  • S99-01391 (February 1999) --- Thirty-one 1998 astronaut candidates, including six international mission specialist train
    S99-01391 (February 1999) --- Thirty-one 1998 astronaut candidates, including six international mission specia...
    Public domain
  • At Cape Canaveral Air Station, members of the 1998 astronaut candidate class (Group 17) pose in front of the Project Mer
    At Cape Canaveral Air Station, members of the 1998 astronaut candidate class (Group 17) pose in front of the P...
    Public domain
  • KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the Apollo/Saturn V Center, some of the 1998 astronaut candidate class (group 17) line
    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the Apollo/Saturn V Center, some of the 1998 astronaut candidate class (group...
    Public domain
  • Astronaut Michael J. Foreman
    Astronaut Michael J. Foreman
    Public domain
  • Attired in training versions of their shuttle launch and entry suits, the STS-123 crew members await the start of a trai
    Attired in training versions of their shuttle launch and entry suits, the STS-123 crew members await the start...
    Public domain
  • STS-123 crew portrait. From the right (front row) are astronauts Dominic L. Gorie, commander; and Gregory H. Johnson, pi
    STS-123 crew portrait. From the right (front row) are astronauts Dominic L. Gorie, commander; and Gregory H. J...
    Public domain
  • Composite image pays tribute to the STS-123 mission to the International Space Station. The artwork is used as the cover
    Composite image pays tribute to the STS-123 mission to the International Space Station. The artwork is used as...
    Public domain
  • The STS-123 crew used part of its last full day onboard the International Space Station posing for some in-space crew po
    The STS-123 crew used part of its last full day onboard the International Space Station posing for some in-spa...
    Public domain
  • The STS-123 crew used part of its last full day onboard the International Space Station posing for some in-space crew po
    The STS-123 crew used part of its last full day onboard the International Space Station posing for some in-spa...
    Public domain
  • An all-star gathering of legendary American astronauts appeared in Cleveland August 29, 2008 to celebrate NASA's 50th an
    An all-star gathering of legendary American astronauts appeared in Cleveland August 29, 2008 to celebrate NASA...
    Public domain
  • Astronaut Mike Foreman, STS-123 mission specialist, helps to tie down the Orbiter Boom Sensor System on the Internationa
    Astronaut Mike Foreman, STS-123 mission specialist, helps to tie down the Orbiter Boom Sensor System on the In...
    Public domain

Sources

Confidence. High: the main facts were confirmed in sources we opened.

Every link goes to the original source. Profile researched 2026-10-15.

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