Astronaut Andre Douglas is living the life he dreamed of when he was only 7 years old, looking through the telescope and studying astronomy with his mother, a military nurse.
“At an early age, that was something that I was very passionate about, and I think I also understood that it’s going to take a lot of energy and effort to get and reach that goal,” Douglas said of becoming an astronaut. “So it was nice to have that as a lifelong goal — no matter what I did in my life, just striving for it — because I always thought, ‘man, that’s going to push me to be a better person.’”
On June 9, Douglas, a Coast Guard Reserve officer, was announced as one of the four crew members for the 2027 Artemis III mission — his first mission in space.
‘Self learners, constantly learning’
Douglas is a Coast Guard Academy graduate with five engineering degrees (a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in mechanical engineering, a master’s degree in naval architecture and marine engineering, yet another master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering, and also a doctorate in systems engineering, according to his NASA biography), and he credits his father for first introducing him to the field.
“My dad, he was an engineer in the Coast Guard as well, and he kind of exposed me to engineering,” Douglas said, explaining that he enjoys constantly learning and has found his colleagues are like-minded.
“I truly think our office prides [itself] on life learning… just self learners, constantly learning. I think that’s why I gradually went towards this office, because I was constantly fascinated about acquiring knowledge,” he said. “There was something about the more knowledge that I got, the more I could understand my world in this universe, and again it goes back to that previous goal [of becoming an astronaut]. But when you have that knowledge, you have the confidence to make the right decisions, but it’s just also very fun, right?”
Douglas added that after learning how foundational concepts (“like calculus”) could impact how planets move, learning “just became this awesome habit, and my world and my universe became larger for me, and I was also very passionate about sharing that knowledge with people, so that we can work together as effective teams.”
NASA and the Artemis missions
Douglas was selected for NASA’s 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class, and is the third Coast Guard service member to become an astronaut. He joins Coast Guardsmen Bruce E. Melnick and Daniel C. Burbank who were selected by NASA in 1987 and 1996, respectively.
Douglas was the backup crew member for the 10-day Artemis II mission that launched earlier this year. In that role, Douglas trained alongside the primary crew and became intimately familiar with the jobs required for a successful mission, prepared to step into any role if necessary. Artemis II made history by going farther than any human has in space exploration.
“Watching the launch and being a part of that launch, it was just amazing to see how we all kind of focused in that one moment in the 10 days to just think, ‘wow, look at these four humans doing something for humanity,’ and seeing things and using technology to give us the data that we need so we can get ready for the next few missions,” Douglas said. “I think that’s very special.”
Douglas is a mission specialist on the Artemis III, which will “carry out a series of objectives in low Earth orbit designed to demonstrate critical systems needed for future lunar landings, beginning with Artemis IV,” according to NASA.
“Human space exploration is special,” Douglas said. “I think it’s very important for us to keep pushing and seeing what we can do, what we can understand and not understand, because it keeps us humble and it keeps us hungry… no matter where I am to support that overall life goal — and I would say humanitarian goal — it’s important.”
