EDUCATION: Graduated from Mission Viejo High School, Mission Viejo, California, in 1976; received a bachelor of science degree in systems engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1980; and a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1988. Graduate of Harvard Universityıs Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security.

ORGANIZATIONS: Member, Society of Experimental Test Pilots; Association of Naval Aviation and Association of Space Explorers.

EXPERIENCE: Following flight training, Lopez-Alegria was designated a Naval Aviator on September 4, 1981. He served as a flight instructor in Pensacola, Florida, until March 1983 and then as a pilot and mission commander of EP-3E aircraft, flying electronic reconnaissance missions in the Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic, Baltic Sea and Central America. In 1986 he was assigned to a two year cooperative program between the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland. His final tour before being assigned to NASA was at the Naval Air Test Center as an engineering test pilot and program manager. He has accumulated more than 4,500 pilot hours in over 30 different aircraft types.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in March 1992, Lopez-Alegria reported for training to the Johnson Space Center in August 1992. Following one year of training and designation as an astronaut, he was assigned to be the Astronaut Office technical point of contact to various Space Shuttle project elements. He was subsequently assigned to the Kennedy Space Center where he provided crew representation on orbiter processing issues and provided direct crew support during launches and landings. Following his first space flight he served as NASA Director of Operations at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, Star City, Russia. After his second mission, he led the newly formed ISS Crew Operations branch of the Astronaut Office. Lopez-Alegria is currently assigned to STS-113/ISS-11A, scheduled to launch aboard Endeavour in 2002.

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-73 Columbia (October 20 to November 5, 1995) was launched from and returned to land at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. STS-73 was the second United States Microgravity Laboratory mission and focused on materials science, biotechnology, combustion science, the physics of fluids, and numerous scientific experiments housed in the pressurized Spacelab module. Lopez-Alegria served as the flight engineer during the ascent and entry phases of flight, and was responsible for all operations of the ³blue² shift on orbit. The STS-73 mission was completed in 15 days, 21 hours, 52 minutes and 21 seconds and traveled over 6 million miles in 256 Earth orbits.

STS-92 Discovery (October 11-24, 2000) was launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida and returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California. During the 13-day flight, the seven-member crew attached the Z1 Truss and Pressurized Mating Adapter 3 to the International Space Station using Discoveryıs robotic arm and performed four space walks to configure these elements. This expansion of the ISS opened the door for future assembly missions and prepared the station for its first resident crew. Lopez-Alegria totaled 14 hours and 3 minutes of EVA time in two space walks. The STS-92 mission was accomplished in 202 orbits of the Earth, traveling 5.3 million miles in 12 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes and 25 seconds.