From combat reconnaissance missions over the skies of Vietnam, to Space Shuttle missions, to climbing some of the highest peaks across the globe, Mike Mullane knows what teamwork, leadership and safety are all about. As a motivation speaker, his programs on these topics have educated, inspired and motivated tens of thousands of people from every walk of business and government. In addition, Astronaut Mullane has authored several critically acclaimed books and DVDs.
Colonel Richard "Mike" Mullane was born September 10, 1945 in Wichita Falls, Texas but spent much of his youth in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he currently resides. Upon his graduation from West Point in 1967, he was commissioned in the United States Air Force. As a Weapon Systems Operator aboard RF-4C Phantom aircraft, he completed 150 combat missions in Vietnam. The motivational speaker holds a Master's of Science Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and is also a graduate of the Air Force Flight Test Engineer School at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
Mullane was selected as a Mission Specialist in 1978 in the first group of Space Shuttle Astronauts. He completed three space missions and logged 356 hours in space aboard the Shuttles Discovery (STS-41D) and Atlantis (STS-27 & 36) before retiring from NASA and the Air Force in 1990.
Mullane has been inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame and is the recipient of many awards, including the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross, Legion of Merit and the NASA Space Flight Medal.
"Mike was absolutely outstanding. Many, many comments that he was the best speaker people had ever seen. Inspiring, motivating, funny...he's the whole package."--Building Commission Group
Since his retirement from NASA, Colonel Mullane has written an award-winning children's book: Liftoff! An Astronaut's Dream; and Do Your Ears Pop In Space? a popular space-fact book. He has also written Red Sky: A Novel of Love, Space and War, in which the story is set in the final days of the Cold War and involves a fictional shuttle mission to defeat a Soviet space-based threat. In his book, Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut, Mike Mullane takes readers into the high-intensity, high-stress world of the shuttle astronaut in this rough but charming yarn of low-rent antics, bureaucratic insanity and transcendent beauty. Chosen as a trainee in 1978, Mullane, a Vietnam vet, quickly finds himself at odds with the buttoned-up post-Apollo NASA world of scientists, technocrats and civilian astronauts he describes as "tree-huggers, dolphin friendly fish eaters, vegetarians, and subscribers to the New York Times." The book hits its stride with Mullane's space adventures: a difficult takeoff, the shift into zero gravity, his first view of the Earth from space: "To say the view was overwhelmingly beautiful would be an insult to God.”
In addition, Colonel Mullane has also served as a host for Inside Space, a nationally syndicated cable television program of the USA Network. His wonderfully entertaining presentations of “Stories From Space” have been eagerly solicited by organizations of all kinds - from Fortune 500 companies to professional associations; from societies to schools and universities.
As a professional motivational speaker, Colonel Mullane has thrilled tens of thousands of adults and a half-million children with his inspirational, motivational and humorous descriptions of the astronaut experience.
Your presentation "Countdown To Teamwork” was excellent. You are one of the most dynamic and powerful speakers I have come across and your message is an important one. When it comes to safety, teamwork is paramount and your lessons concerning teamwork were presented in a fashion that ensures they will easily come to mind when needed. Keep up the great work you are doing...you certainly have "the right stuff". I especially latched on to your lesson about past successes breeding complacency. I have worked for two organizations that made the same mistake.
WOW! I have never attended a dynamic speaker such as yourself and I was in complete amazement with your methods and enthusiasm towards capturing the audience with your speech. You’re an inspiration to us all. I will take what I have learned, as you have changed my thinking in many ways.
Our group REALLY enjoyed your presentation and as one delegate said to me “I went into the room wondering what an astronaut could teach me about safety and came out with a terrific new insight into how safety works on the jobsite”. Thank you again for making such a wonderful presentation at our event, we’d be happy to recommend you to any other group!
I had the fortunate opportunity to attend the Safety Summit with E-On and wanted to express my appreciation for your presence and the excellent presentation that you gave us. As a safety director for our company, your message was powerful and I have already begun sharing your major points with our crew members. We move heavy machinery in the nuclear power and energy industry so I could very much relate with your key speaking points about the normalization of deviance. No doubt that when our guys short cut safety they are rationalizing their acceptance of lower and unsafe work practices. I didn’t get a chance to catch you on the way out but wanted to let you know that I will refer to your comments for many years to come in my training efforts. Best wishes and continued success!