Michael Coats

Michael Coats was an American astronaut who was born on January 16, 1946 in California. Before he became an astronaut, Coats served in the Vietnam War as a Naval fighter pilot. He has flown over 5000 hours in 28 types of aircraft.

Coats became an astronaut in 1978. He has spent over 463 hours in space on 3 spaceflights.

In 1984, Coats piloted Space Shuttle Discovery. This was the first flight of the shuttle. During this mission, the crew put three satellites into orbit. Coats commanded STS-29 in 1989. A satellite was put into orbit in this mission. In 1991, Coats commanded STS-39.


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