Mike Fossum

Fossum received his commission in the U.S. Air Force from Texas A&M University in May 1980. After completing his graduate work at the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1981, he was detailed to NASA-Johnson Space Center, where he supported Space Shuttle flight operations, beginning with STS-3. He was selected for Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California, where he graduated in 1985. After graduation, Fossum served at Edwards AFB as a Flight Test Engineer in the F-16 Test Squadron, working on a variety of airframe, avionics and armament development programs. From 1989 to 1992, he served as a Flight Test Manager at Detachment 3, Air Force Flight Test Center. Fossum resigned from active duty in 1992 to work for NASA and retired as a Colonel from the USAF Reserves in 2010. He has logged more than 1,800 hours in 35 different aircraft.