NAME:  C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.)
       NASA Astronaut
 
BIRTHPLACE AND DATE:  Born January 6, 1957, in Louth, England, but
considers Cambridge, England to be his hometown.  His parents, Colin &
Mary Foale, reside in Cambridge.
 
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:  Brown hair; blue eyes; 5 feet 11 inches; 155
pounds.
 
EDUCATION:  Graduated from Kings School, Canterbury, in 1975.  He
attended the University of Cambridge, Queens' College, receiving a
bachelor of arts degree in Physics, National Sciences Tripos, with 1st
class honors, in 1978.  While at Queens' College, he completed his
doctorate in Laboratory Astrophysics at Cambridge University in 1982.
 
MARITAL STATUS:  Married to the former Rhonda R. Butler of Louisville,
Kentucky.  Her parents, Reed & Dorothy Butler, reside in Louisville.
 
CHILDREN:  Jenna Michelle, December 7, 1991.
 
RECREATIONAL INTERESTS:  He enjoys many outdoor activities,
particularly windsurfing, and participating as an amateur in many
national and international races.  Private flying, soaring, and
project scuba diving have been his other major sporting interests.  He
also enjoys exploring theoretical physics on a personal computer.
 
ORGANIZATIONS:  Member of the Cambridge Philosophical Society,
England.
 
EXPERIENCE:  While a postgraduate at Cambridge University, Foale
participated in the organization and execution of scientific scuba
diving projects.  With the cooperation of the Greek government, he
participated as both a member of one expedition and the leader of
another, surveying underwater antiquities in Greece.  In the Fall of
1981, he dove on the 1543 ocean galleon, "The Mary Rose", as a
volunteer diver, learning excavation and survey techniques in very low
visibility conditions.  Pursuing a career in aerospace, Foale moved to
Houston, Texas, to work on Space Shuttle navigation problems at
McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Corporation.  In June 1983, Foale joined
NASA Johnson Space Center in the payload operations area of the
Mission Operations Directorate.  In his capacity as payload officer in
the Mission Control Center, he was responsible for payload operations
on Space Shuttle missions 51-G, 51-I, 61-B and 61-C.
 
NASA EXPERIENCE:  Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in June
1987, Foale completed a one-year training and evaluation program in
August 1988.  He is qualified for assignment as a mission specialist
on future Space Shuttle flight crews.  His technical assignments to
date include flying the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL)
simulator to provide verification and testing of the the Shuttle
flight software and developing crew rescue and integrated operations
for Space Station Freedom.  He flew as a mission specialist on the
crew of STS-45 (March 24 - April 2, 1992) the first of the ATLAS
series of missions to address the atmosphere and its interaction with
the Sun.  With the completion of this mission he logged over 214 hours
in space.
 
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:  Dr. Foale is assigned as a mission specialist on
the crew of STS-56, carrying ATLAS-2.  During this nine-day mission
the crew of Endeavour will conduct atmospheric and solar studies in
order to better understand the effect of solar activity on the Earth's
climate and environment.  STS-56 is scheduled for launch in early
1993.
 
APRIL 1992