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After five space flights, the Lincolnshire-born astronaut Michael Foale has become a veteran of the US space programme.

Michael Foale was born in the Lincolnshire market town of Louth on January 6, 1957.

He graduated from Kings School, Canterbury in 1975 before attending the University of Cambridge, Queens’ College and gaining a degree in Physics, Natural Sciences Tripos with 1st class honours, in 1978.

He later went on to complete his doctorate in Laboratory Astrophysics at Cambridge University in 1982.

He was selected for NASA in 1987

Whilst doing his postgraduate studies at Cambridge University, Foale participated in the organisation and execution of scientific scuba diving projects.

Pursuing a career in the U.S. Space Program, Foale then moved to Houston, Texas, to work on Space Shuttle navigation problems at McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Corporation.

He was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in June 1987. Since then he has spent over 178 days in space and has clocked up more than 18 hours of spacewalk time.

He lived on the Russian space station Mir for four-and-a-half months in 1997 and is now in command of the International Space Station.

All this for a British schoolboy who dreamed of one day becoming an astronaut.

He is married and has two children.