Book Mike Mullane

Mike Mullane is the retired US Air Force colonel and former NASA astronaut who turned three Space Shuttle missions into powerful lessons on teamwork, leadership and safety. A 1967 graduate of West Point, he went to Vietnam in 1969 and logged 134 combat missions in the back seat of RF-4C reconnaissance jets, earning honors including the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal. He later trained as a flight test engineer at Edwards Air Force Base and served with a test wing at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Selected by NASA in January 1978 as part of the first class of shuttle-era astronauts, he became an astronaut in August 1979. He served as a mission specialist on STS-41-D in August 1984, the maiden flight of the orbiter Discovery, then on STS-27 in December 1988 and STS-36 in March 1990, both classified Department of Defense missions. His candid memoir Riding Rockets (2006) won wide praise for its humor and honesty about life inside the astronaut corps. As a speaker, Mullane shares vivid stories from space to show audiences how to prevent complacency, speak up and build high-performing teams.