Burlington

John Michael Lounge is Director of Business Development for Boeing’s Space Exploration Division in Houston, Texas.   In that role he develops strategy for capturing new business and oversees the related research and development activities.

Prior to joining Boeing in 2002, Lounge was a senior vice president with SPACEHAB, Inc.  In his 11 years with SPACEHAB he had primary responsibility for flight hardware development in support of the company’s commercial initiatives.

Lounge was employed at the Johnson Space Center from July 1978 to June 1991.  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 Payload Operations Division.

After being selected for the NASA Astronaut Corps with the astronaut candidate class of 1980, he served as a member of the launch support team at Kennedy Space Center for the STS-1, STS-2, and STS-3 missions.  A veteran of three space flights, Lounge has logged over 482 hours in space.  He was a mission specialist on STS-51I (August 27 to September 3, 1985) and STS-26 (September 29 to October 3, 1988) and was the flight engineer on STS-35 (December 2-10, 1990). From 1989 through 1991, Lounge served as chief of the astronauts’ Space Station Support Office, representing astronaut interests in Space Station design and operations planning.

He 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, Fla., 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, Calif.  While with VF-142, he completed a nine-month southeast Asia cruise aboard the USS ENTERPRISE (participating in 99 combat missions) and a seven-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.  He resigned his regular United States Navy commission in 1978.

His awards include six Navy Air Medals, three Navy Commendation Medals (with Combat “V”), the JSC Superior Achievement Award (for service as a member of the Skylab Reentry Team), three NASA Exceptional Service Medals and three NASA Space Flight Medals.  He is holder of three U.S. Patents.

Lounge graduated from Burlington High School, Burlington, Colo., in 1964; received a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1969 and a Master of Science degree in Astrogeophysics from the University of Colorado in 1970.