Lounge Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, Married, Three children. Born in Denver, Colorado, USA.

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: NASA Group 9 - 1980. Inactive Entered space service: 19 May 1980. Left space service: 20 June 1991. Number of Flights: 3.00. Total Time: 20.10 days.

NAME: John M. "Mike" Lounge (Mr.)

NASA Astronaut

BIRTHPLACE AND DATE: Born June 28, 1946, in Denver, Colorado, but considers Burlington, Colorado, to be his hometown. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Percy Lounge, reside in Burlington.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Brown hair; brown eyes; height: 5 feet 10 inches; weight: 175 pounds.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Burlington High School, Burlington, Colorado, in 1964; received a bachelor of science degree in Physics and Mathematics from the United States Naval Academy in 1969 and a master of science degree in Astrogeophysics from the University of Colorado in 1970.

MARITAL STATUS: Married to Kathryn Anne Havens of Port Arthur, Texas; she is a Payload Integration Manager for the National Space Transportation System Program at the Johnson Space Center.

CHILDREN: Shannon, June 5, 1971; Kenneth, September 14, 1981; Kathy, March 23, 1984.

RECREATIONAL INTERESTS: He enjoys jogging, chess, squash, tennis, flying, golfing, and blue grass guitar.

ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Texas Air National Guard.

SPECIAL HONORS: 6 Navy Air Medals, 3 Navy Commendation Medals (with Combat "V"), the JSC Superior Achievement Award (for service as a member of the Skylab Reentry Team), a NASA Exceptional Service Medal and 2 NASA Space Flight Medals.

EXPERIENCE: Lounge entered on active duty with the United States Navy following graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy and spent the next nine years in a variety of assignments. He completed Naval flight officer training at Pensacola, Florida, went on to advanced training as a radar intercept officer in the F-4J Phantom, and subsequently reported to Fighter Squadron 142 based at Naval Air Station Miramar, California. While with VF-142, he completed a 9-month Southeast Asia cruise aboard the USS ENTERPRISE (participating in 99 combat missions) and a 7-month Mediterranean cruise aboard the USS AMERICA. In 1974, he returned to the U.S. Naval Academy as an instructor in the Physics Department. Lounge transferred to the Navy Space Project Office in Washington, D.C., in 1976, for a two year tour as a staff project officer. He resigned his regular United States Navy commission in 1978 and affiliated with the Naval Air Reserve, flying F-4Ns with Reserve Fighter Squadron 201 at the Naval Air Station Dallas, Texas. He currently holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Texas Air National Guard, and is assigned to Headquarters, Texas Air National Guard.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Mr. Lounge has been employed at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center since July 1978. During this time, he worked as lead engineer for Space Shuttle launched satellites, and also served as a member of the Skylab Reentry Flight Control Team. He completed these assignments while with the Payloads Operations Division.

Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in 1980, he completed a one year training and evaluation period, and became an astronaut in August 1981. He served as a member of the launch support team at Kennedy Space Center for the STS-1, STS-2 and STS-3 missions.

Mr. Lounge was a mission specialist on STS 51-I which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on August 27, 1985. During that mission his duties included deployment of the Australian AUSSAT communications satellite and operation of the Remote Manipulator System (RMS). The crew deployed two other communications satellites, the Navy's SYNCOM IV-4, and American Satellite Company's ASC-1, and also performed a successful on-orbit rendezvous and repair of the ailing 15,400 lb SYNCOM IV-3 satellite. STS 51-I completed 112 orbits of the Earth before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on September 3, 1985.

Following his flight on STS 51-I, he was assigned to the first mission to carry the Centaur (cryogenically fueled) upper stage (STS 61-F). After that mission was canceled, he participated in Space Station design development.

Mr. Lounge next flew as a mission specialist on STS-26, the first flight to be flown after the Challenger accident. The Orbiter Discovery was launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on September 29, 1988. During the four day mission, the crew successfully deployed the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-C), which was subsequently carried to orbit by the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) rocket. They also operated eleven mid-deck experiments. Discovery completed 64 orbits of the earth before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on October 3, 1988. Mission duration was 97 hours.

Mr. Lounge's third flight into space occurred in December 1990 on STS-35. He served as flight engineer and Space Shuttle operator for that 9-day flight of Columbia which was dedicated to astronomy. Very exciting observations of the Universe were collected by the ASTRO-1 ultraviolet telescope and by the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope. With the completion of this flight, Mr. Lounge has logged over 482 hours in space.

CURRENT ASSIGNMENT: Mr. Lounge is assigned as Chief of the Space Station Support office which deals with Space Station design and operation.

JANUARY 1991

• 27 August 1985 Flight: STS-51-I. Flight Up: STS-51-I. Flight Back: STS-51-I. Flight Time: 7.10 days.

• 29 September 1988 Flight: STS-26. Flight Up: STS-26. Flight Back: STS-26. Flight Time: 4.04 days.

• 2 December 1990 Flight: STS-35. Flight Up: STS-35. Flight Back: STS-35. Flight Time: 8.96 days.

19 May 1980 - NASA Astronaut Training Group 9 selected.. The group was selected to provide pilot, engineer, and scientist astronauts for space shuttle flights.. Qualifications: Pilots: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Advanced degree desirable. At least 1,000 flight-hours of pilot-in-command time. Flight test experience desirable. Excellent health. Vision minimum 20/50 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 vision; maximum sitting blood pressure 140/90. Height between 163 and 193 cm.

Mission Specialists: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics and minimum three years of related experience or an advanced degree. Vision minimum 20/150 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20. Maximum sitting blood pressure of 140/90. Height between 150 and 193 cm..