Michael A . Baker Michael Allen Baker ( born October 27 , 1953 ) is a retired captain in the United States Navy , NASA astronaut , and the International Space Station Program Manager for International and Crew Operations , at NASA ' s Johnson Space Center . He is responsible for the coordination of program operations , integration and flight crew training and support activities with the International Partners . Early life . Baker was born in Memphis , Tennessee and considers Lemoore , California to be his hometown . He was active in the Boy Scouts of America where he achieved its second highest rank , Life Scout . Baker graduated from Lemoore Union High School , Lemoore , California , in 1971 , and received a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas in 1975 . He has two children . Naval service . After graduation , Baker completed flight training and earned his Wings of Gold as a Naval Aviator at Naval Air Station Chase Field , Beeville , Texas , in 1977 . In 1978 , he was assigned to Attack Squadron 56 ( VA - 56 ) , embarked on the USS " Midway " , homeported in Yokosuka , Japan , where he flew the A - 7 Corsair II . In late 1980 , he was assigned to Carrier Air Wing 30 as the Air Wing Landing Signal Officer . He attended the U . S . Naval Test Pilot School in 1981 and , after graduation , was assigned to the Carrier Suitability Branch of the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate . While there , Baker conducted carrier suitability structural tests , aircraft carrier catapult and arresting gear certification tests , and automatic carrier landing system certification and verification tests on the various aircraft carriers of the Navy ' s fleet in the A - 7 Corsair II aircraft . In 1983 , he returned to the U . S . Naval Test Pilot School as an instructor . He was then assigned as the U . S . Navy exchange instructor at the Empire Test Pilots ' School in Boscombe Down , England , teaching performance , flying qualities and systems flight test techniques . He has logged over 5 , 400 hours flying time in approximately 50 different types of airplanes , including tactical jets , VSTOL , multi - engine transport and rotary wing aircraft , and has over 300 carrier landings to his credit . NASA . Selected by NASA in June 1985 , Baker became an astronaut in July 1986 upon completion of a one - year training and evaluation program . Following the " Challenger " accident , Baker was assigned from January 1986 to December 1987 as a member of the team that was pursuing redesign , modification and improvements to the Shuttle Landing and Deceleration Systems , to include nosewheel steering , brakes , tires , and drag chute , in an effort to provide greater safety margins during landing and rollout . He was then assigned to the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory , where he was involved in the checkout and verification of the computer software and hardware interfaces for STS - 26 ( the return - to - flight mission ) and subsequent flights . Baker then served as an ascent , entry and orbit spacecraft communicator ( CAPCOM ) for Shuttle missions STS - 27 , STS - 29 , STS - 30 , STS - 28 , STS - 34 , STS - 33 , STS - 32 , STS - 36 , STS - 31 , STS - 38 , and STS - 35 . His duties included communication with the Shuttle crew during simulations and actual missions , as well as working procedural problems and modifications between missions . He served as the leader of the Astronaut Support Personnel team at the Kennedy Space Center for Shuttle missions STS - 44 , STS - 42 and STS - 45 . He was assigned as the Flight Crew Operations Directorate Representative to the Space Shuttle Program Office from December 1992 to January 1994 . Between March to October 1995 , he served as the Director of Operations for NASA at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City , Russia . He was responsible for the coordination and implementation of mission operation activities in the Moscow region for the joint U . S . / Russian Shuttle / Mir program . From October 1997 to August 2001 , he was the Assistant Director of Johnson Space Center ( JSC ) for Human Space Flight Programs , Russia and was responsible for implementation and integration of NASA ’ s Human Space Flight Programs in Russia . Those activities included International Space Station ( ISS ) training , operations , technical liaison , logistics and personnel administration support . He also served as the NASA JSC representative to the Russian Space Agency , Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center , Star City ; Mission Control Center - Moscow , Energia Rocket and Spacecraft Corporation , Krunichev State Scientific and Production Space Center and other Russian government agencies and manufacturers involved in the ISS program . After his return to JSC in August 2001 , he was assigned as the International Space Station Program Manager for International Operations responsible for the coordination of program operations , integration and flight crew training and support activities with the International Partners . Space flights . A veteran of four space flights , Baker has logged 965 hours in space . He served as pilot on STS - 43 ( August 2 – 11 , 1991 ) and STS - 52 ( October 22 to November 1 , 1992 ) , and was the mission commander on STS - 68 ( September 30 to October 11 , 1994 ) and STS - 81 ( January 12 – 22 , 1997 ) . STS - 43 Space Shuttle " Atlantis " launched from the Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on August 2 , 1991 . During the flight , crew members deployed the fifth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite ( TDRS - E ) , in addition to conducting 32 physical , material , and life science experiments , mostly relating to the Extended Duration Orbiter and Space Station Freedom . After 142 orbits of the Earth , the 9 - day mission concluded with a landing on Runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center on August 11 , 1991 . Mission duration was 213 hours , 21 minutes , 25 seconds . STS - 52 Space Shuttle " Columbia " launched from the Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on October 22 , 1992 . During the mission crew members deployed the Italian Laser Geodynamic Satellite ( LAGEOS ) , used to measure movement of the Earth ’ s crust , and operated the U . S . Microgravity Payload 1 ( USMP - 1 ) . Additionally , the Advanced Space Vision System ( SVS ) developed by the Canadian Space Agency was tested by the Canadian payload specialist and the crew using a small target assembly that was released from the remote manipulator system . The SVS will be used for Space Station construction . These three primary payloads together with numerous other payloads operated by the crew encompassed geophysics , materials science , biological research and applied research for Space Station Freedom . Following 159 orbits of the Earth , the 10 - day mission concluded with a landing on Runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center on November 1 , 1992 . Mission duration was 236 hours , 56 minutes , 13 seconds . STS - 68 Space Shuttle " Endeavour " launched from the Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on September 30 , 1994 . This flight was the second flight of the Space Radar Laboratory ( SRL ) , which consists of a large radar called SIR - C / X - SAR ( Shuttle Imaging Radar - C / X - Band Synthetic Aperture Radar ) and MAPS ( Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites ) . As part of NASA ’ s Mission to Planet Earth , SRL was an international , multidisciplinary study of global environmental change , both natural and man - made . The primary objective was to radar map the surface of the Earth to help us understand the contributions of ecology , hydrology , geology , and oceanography to changes in our Planet ’ s environment . Real - time crew observations of environmental conditions , along with over 14 , 000 photographs , aided in interpretation of the radar images . This SRL mission was a highly successful test of technology intended for long - term environmental and geological monitoring of planet Earth . Following 183 orbits of the Earth , the eleven - day mission concluded with a landing on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base , California , on October 11 , 1994 . Mission duration was 269 hours , 46 minutes , 10 seconds . STS - 81 Space Shuttle " Atlantis " launched from the Kennedy Space Center , Florida on January 12 , 1997 . STS - 81 was the fifth in a series of joint missions between the U . S . Space Shuttle and the Russian Space Station Mir and the second one involving an exchange of U . S . astronauts . In five days of docked operations more than three tons of food , water , experiment equipment and samples were moved back and forth between the two spacecraft . Following 160 orbits of the Earth the STS - 81 mission concluded with a landing on Kennedy Space Center ’ s Runway 33 ending a 3 . 9 million mile journey . Mission duration was 244 hours , 56 minutes .