Michael R. Barratt
Encyclopedia
Michael Reed Barratt is an American
physician
and a NASA
astronaut
. Specializing in aerospace medicine, Barratt served as a flight surgeon for NASA before his selection as an astronaut, and has played a role in developing NASA's space medicine programs for both the Shuttle-Mir Program
and International Space Station
. His first spaceflight was a long-duration mission to the International Space Station, as a Flight Engineer apart of the Expedition 19
and 20
crew. In March 2011, Barratt completed his second spaceflight as a crew member of STS-133
.
, Barratt considers Camas, Washington
, to be his home town. He is married to Dr. Michelle Lynne Barratt (née Sasynuik); they have five children. His father and mother, Joseph and Donna Barratt, reside in Camas. His personal and recreational interests include family and church activities, writing, sailing, and boat restoration and maintenance.
in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science
degree in zoology
, going on to earn an M.D.
from Northwestern University
in 1985. He completed a three-year residency in internal medicine
at Northwestern University in 1988; his Chief Residency year was at Veterans Administration Lakeside Hospital in Chicago in 1989. In 1991, Barratt completed both a residency and a Master of Science
in aerospace medicine jointly run by Wright State University
, NASA
, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
. He is board certified in Internal and Aerospace Medicine.
Barratt holds a private pilot's license and has been qualified on NASA's T-38 Talon
s.
project. In July 1992 he was assigned as NASA aviation medical examiner
working in Space Shuttle Medical Operations.
In July 1993 Barratt was one of a team of the first three Americans invited to witness the recovery of a Soyuz spacecraft
. Asked to help evaluate the potential of the Soyuz as a Crew Return Vehicle
for a NASA space station, he flew with the recovery team that picked up the crew of Soyuz TM-16
after they landed in Kazakhstan. (The Soyuz was ultimately chosen as the return vehicle for the International Space Station).
In January 1994 he was assigned to the Shuttle-Mir Program
. He spent over 12 months working and training in the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center at Star City as one of two flight surgeons supporting Norman Thagard
and his backup Bonnie Dunbar, a role that often included negotiations to resolve different approaches to medicine by NASA and Russian doctors. Barratt and fellow flight surgeon David Ward developed a Mir Supplemental Medical Kit to augment Russian equipment on Mir and developed a program of training for its use, taught to both NASA astronauts and Russian cosmonauts.
Thagard launched to Mir aboard Soyuz TM-21
and returned to earth on STS-71
; during the 115-day flight, Barratt and Ward effectively served as a CAPCOMs for the NASA Shuttle-Mir team in addition to their duties as flight surgeons.
From July 1995 through July 1998, Barratt served as Medical Operations Lead for the International Space Station (ISS). A frequent traveler to Russia, he worked with counterparts at Star City and the Institute for Biomedical Problems as well as other ISS partner centers, developing medical procedures, training and equipment for ISS. Barratt served as lead crew surgeon for ISS Expedition 1
from July 1998 until selected as an astronaut candidate. He serves as Associate Editor for Space Medicine for the journal Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
, and is senior editor of the textbook ‘Principles of Clinical Medicine for Space Flight’.
Selected as a Mission Specialist
by NASA in July 2000, Barratt reported for training in August 2000. Following the completion of two years of training and evaluation, he was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Station Operations Branch. In October 2004, Barratt served as an aquanaut
during the NEEMO 7 mission aboard the Aquarius
underwater laboratory
, living and working underwater for eleven days.
crew in February 2008 and launched to the International Space Station in March 2009 aboard Soyuz TMA-14
. His stay aboard the ISS continued through until the end of Expedition 20
in October 2009.
on STS-133
, the final flight of Space Shuttle Discovery
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and a NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
. Specializing in aerospace medicine, Barratt served as a flight surgeon for NASA before his selection as an astronaut, and has played a role in developing NASA's space medicine programs for both the Shuttle-Mir Program
Shuttle-Mir Program
The Shuttle–Mir Program was a collaborative space program between Russia and the United States, which involved American Space Shuttles visiting the Russian space station Mir, Russian cosmonauts flying on the shuttle and an American astronaut flying aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to engage in...
and International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
. His first spaceflight was a long-duration mission to the International Space Station, as a Flight Engineer apart of the Expedition 19
Expedition 19
Expedition 19 was the 19th long-duration flight to the International Space Station. This expedition launched on 26 March 2009, at 11:49 UTC aboard the Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft. Expedition 19 was the final three crew member expedition, before the crew size increased to six crew members with...
and 20
Expedition 20
Expedition 20 was the twentieth long-duration flight to the International Space Station. The expedition marked the first time a six-member crew inhabited the station...
crew. In March 2011, Barratt completed his second spaceflight as a crew member of STS-133
STS-133
STS-133 was the 133rd mission in NASA's Space Shuttle program; during the mission, Space Shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station. It was Discoverys 39th and final mission. The mission launched on 24 February 2011, and landed on 9 March 2011...
.
Personal
Born in Vancouver, WashingtonVancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
, Barratt considers Camas, Washington
Camas, Washington
Camas is a city in Clark County, Washington, with a population of 19,355 at the 2010 census. Officially incorporated on June 18, 1906, the city is named after the camas lily, a plant with an onion-like bulb prized by Native Americans. At the west end of downtown Camas is a large Georgia-Pacific...
, to be his home town. He is married to Dr. Michelle Lynne Barratt (née Sasynuik); they have five children. His father and mother, Joseph and Donna Barratt, reside in Camas. His personal and recreational interests include family and church activities, writing, sailing, and boat restoration and maintenance.
Education
Barratt graduated from Camas High School in 1977. He graduated from the University of WashingtonUniversity of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
, going on to earn an M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in 1985. He completed a three-year residency in internal medicine
Internal medicine
Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...
at Northwestern University in 1988; his Chief Residency year was at Veterans Administration Lakeside Hospital in Chicago in 1989. In 1991, Barratt completed both a residency and a Master of Science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in aerospace medicine jointly run by Wright State University
Wright State University
Wright State University is a comprehensive public university with strong doctoral, research, and undergraduate programs, rated among the 260 Best National Universities listed in the annual "America's Best Colleges" rankings by U.S. News and World Report. Wright State is located in Fairborn, Ohio,...
, NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...
. He is board certified in Internal and Aerospace Medicine.
Barratt holds a private pilot's license and has been qualified on NASA's T-38 Talon
T-38 Talon
The Northrop T-38 Talon is a twin-engine supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first supersonic trainer and is also the most produced. The T-38 remains in service as of 2011 in air forces throughout the world....
s.
NASA career
Barratt first worked at NASA Johnson Space Center in May 1991, employed as aerospace project physician with KRUG Life Sciences. From May 1991 to July 1992, he served on the Health Maintenance Facility Project as manager of the Hyperbaric and Respiratory Subsystems for the defunct Space Station FreedomSpace Station Freedom
Space Station Freedom was a NASA project to construct a permanently manned Earth-orbiting space station in the 1980s. Although approved by then-president Ronald Reagan and announced in the 1984 State of the Union Address, Freedom was never constructed or completed as originally designed, and after...
project. In July 1992 he was assigned as NASA aviation medical examiner
Aviation Medical Examiner
In the United States and other countries, an Aviation Medical Examiner is a physician designated by the local aviation authority and given the authority to perform flight physical examinations and issue aviation medical certificates...
working in Space Shuttle Medical Operations.
In July 1993 Barratt was one of a team of the first three Americans invited to witness the recovery of a Soyuz spacecraft
Soyuz spacecraft
Soyuz , Union) is a series of spacecraft initially designed for the Soviet space programme by the Korolyov Design Bureau in the 1960s, and still in service today...
. Asked to help evaluate the potential of the Soyuz as a Crew Return Vehicle
Crew Return Vehicle
The Crew Return Vehicle , sometimes referred to as the Assured Crew Return Vehicle , is the proposed lifeboat or escape module for the International Space Station...
for a NASA space station, he flew with the recovery team that picked up the crew of Soyuz TM-16
Soyuz TM-16
-Crew:-Mission highlights:16th expedition to Mir.First Soyuz without a probe and drogue docking system since 1976. It carriedan APAS-89 androgynous docking unit different from the APAS-75 unit used for ASTP in 1975, yet similar in general principles. Soyuz-TM 16 used it to dock with an androgynous...
after they landed in Kazakhstan. (The Soyuz was ultimately chosen as the return vehicle for the International Space Station).
In January 1994 he was assigned to the Shuttle-Mir Program
Shuttle-Mir Program
The Shuttle–Mir Program was a collaborative space program between Russia and the United States, which involved American Space Shuttles visiting the Russian space station Mir, Russian cosmonauts flying on the shuttle and an American astronaut flying aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to engage in...
. He spent over 12 months working and training in the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center at Star City as one of two flight surgeons supporting Norman Thagard
Norman Thagard
Norman Earl Thagard is an American scientist and former NASA astronaut. He is the first American to ride to space on board a Russian vehicle, and can be considered the first American cosmonaut...
and his backup Bonnie Dunbar, a role that often included negotiations to resolve different approaches to medicine by NASA and Russian doctors. Barratt and fellow flight surgeon David Ward developed a Mir Supplemental Medical Kit to augment Russian equipment on Mir and developed a program of training for its use, taught to both NASA astronauts and Russian cosmonauts.
Thagard launched to Mir aboard Soyuz TM-21
Soyuz TM-21
Soyuz TM-21 was Soyuz mission, a human spaceflight mission transporting personnel to the Russian space station Mir. Part of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, the mission launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, atop a Soyuz-U2 carrier rocket, at 06:11:34 UTC on March 14, 1995...
and returned to earth on STS-71
STS-71
STS-71 was the third mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, which carried out the first Space Shuttle docking to Mir, a Russian space station. The mission used Space Shuttle Atlantis, which lifted off from launch pad 39A on 27 June 1995 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida...
; during the 115-day flight, Barratt and Ward effectively served as a CAPCOMs for the NASA Shuttle-Mir team in addition to their duties as flight surgeons.
From July 1995 through July 1998, Barratt served as Medical Operations Lead for the International Space Station (ISS). A frequent traveler to Russia, he worked with counterparts at Star City and the Institute for Biomedical Problems as well as other ISS partner centers, developing medical procedures, training and equipment for ISS. Barratt served as lead crew surgeon for ISS Expedition 1
Expedition 1
Expedition 1, or Expedition One, was the first long-duration stay on the International Space Station . The three-person crew stayed aboard the station for 136 days, from November 2000 to March 2001. It was the beginning of an uninterrupted human presence on the station which still continues, as of...
from July 1998 until selected as an astronaut candidate. He serves as Associate Editor for Space Medicine for the journal Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine is a peer-reviewed scientific journal in the field of aviation / aerospace medicine.Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine was founded as the Journal of Aviation Medicine in 1930 by Louis H...
, and is senior editor of the textbook ‘Principles of Clinical Medicine for Space Flight’.
Selected as a Mission Specialist
Mission Specialist
A Mission Specialist is a position held by certain NASA astronauts during Space Shuttle missions. A Mission Specialist is assigned to a limited field of the mission, such as for medical experiments or technical quests....
by NASA in July 2000, Barratt reported for training in August 2000. Following the completion of two years of training and evaluation, he was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Station Operations Branch. In October 2004, Barratt served as an aquanaut
Aquanaut
An Aquanaut is any individual who remains underwater, exposed to the ambient pressure, long enough to come into equilibrium with his or her breathing media. Usually this is done in an underwater habitat on the seafloor for a period equal to or greater than 24 continuous hours without returning to...
during the NEEMO 7 mission aboard the Aquarius
Aquarius (laboratory)
The NOAA Aquarius Reef Base is an underwater habitat located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, adjacent to Conch Reef. It is one of the few underwater research facilities in the world dedicated to science...
underwater laboratory
Underwater habitat
Underwater habitats are underwater structures in which people can live for extended periods and carry out most of the basic human functions of a 24-hour day, such as working, resting, eating, attending to personal hygiene, and sleeping...
, living and working underwater for eleven days.
Expedition 19/20
Barratt was assigned to the Expedition 19Expedition 19
Expedition 19 was the 19th long-duration flight to the International Space Station. This expedition launched on 26 March 2009, at 11:49 UTC aboard the Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft. Expedition 19 was the final three crew member expedition, before the crew size increased to six crew members with...
crew in February 2008 and launched to the International Space Station in March 2009 aboard Soyuz TMA-14
Soyuz TMA-14
The Soyuz TMA-14 was a Soyuz flight to the International Space Station, which launched on 26 March 2009. It transported two members of the Expedition 19 crew as well as spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi on his second self-funded flight to the space station...
. His stay aboard the ISS continued through until the end of Expedition 20
Expedition 20
Expedition 20 was the twentieth long-duration flight to the International Space Station. The expedition marked the first time a six-member crew inhabited the station...
in October 2009.
STS-133
Barratt flew as a Mission SpecialistMission Specialist
A Mission Specialist is a position held by certain NASA astronauts during Space Shuttle missions. A Mission Specialist is assigned to a limited field of the mission, such as for medical experiments or technical quests....
on STS-133
STS-133
STS-133 was the 133rd mission in NASA's Space Shuttle program; during the mission, Space Shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station. It was Discoverys 39th and final mission. The mission launched on 24 February 2011, and landed on 9 March 2011...
, the final flight of Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
.
Organizations
Aerospace Medical Association; American College of Physicians; Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society; American Institute for the Advancement of Science.Awards and honors
Barratt has received several awards and honors:- W. Randolph Lovelace Award (1998), Society of NASA Flight Surgeons
- Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation Nominee (1998)
- Melbourne W. Boynton Award (1995), American Astronautical SocietyAmerican Astronautical SocietyFormed in 1954, the American Astronautical Society is an independent scientific and technical group in the United States dedicated to the advancement of space science and exploration. AAS supports NASA's Vision for Space Exploration and is a member of the Coalition for Space Exploration and the...
- USAF Flight Surgeons Julian Ward Award (1992)
- Wright State University Outstanding Graduate Student, Aerospace Medicine (1991)
- Alpha Omega AlphaAlpha Omega AlphaThe Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, commonly called Alpha Omega Alpha and abbreviated ΑΩΑ or AOA, is a national honor society for medical students, residents, scientists and physicians in the United States and Canada.-History:...
Medical Honor Society, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL (1988) - Phi Beta Kappa, University of WashingtonUniversity of WashingtonUniversity of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, Seattle, WA (1981)
