Big Ten Network Honors Astronaut Michael Hopkins

12/19/2014

The Big Ten Network has recognized AE alumn and astronaut Mike Hopkins for his post-college achievements.

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AE alumnus Michael S. Hopkins
AE alumnus Michael S. Hopkins
Astronaut Michael Hopkins
The Big Ten has honored astronaut Michael Hopkins with its Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award, which recognizes former conference football players for their post-college achievements.

Hopkins was a four-year letter winner for the Illini and a team captain in 1991, earning the Big Ten Medal of Honor while completing an undergraduate degree in 1992 in Aerospace Engineering at Illinois. A distinguished graduate of the Reserve Officers Training Corps, Hopkins earned a Masters of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Stanford University in 1992.

That same year, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force, working in advanced space system technologies. Hopkins entered the flight test engineering course in 1996, graduating the following year. After posts in Canada and Italy, Hopkins was assigned to the United States Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office at the Pentagon in 2005, serving as a project engineer and program manager.

He was selected for Astronaut Candidate Training at NASA in 2009 and graduated in 2011. Two years later, he served as a flight engineer on Expedition 37/38, a 166-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS), during which Hopkins completed 2,656 orbits of the Earth and traveled more than 70 million miles. In October 2013, while aboard ISS, he participated in an event featuring his live chat with a large audience of AE students. Several months later, he was chosen to deliver the Spring 2014 Commencement address.

Hopkins has risen to the rank of colonel during a decorated career in the Air Force, earning numerous medals for aerial achievement and meritorious service.
 


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This story was published December 19, 2014.