Andre Douglas (born December 11, 1985) is an American

systems engineer Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their life cycles. At its core, systems engineering utilizes systems thinkin ...

Coast Guard Reserve The United States Coast Guard Reserve is the Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, reserve component of the United States Coast Guard. It is organized, trained, administered, and supplied under the direction of the Commandant of ...

officer, and

NASA astronaut The NASA Astronaut Corps is a unit of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members for U.S. and international space missions. It is based at Johnson Space Ce ...

, currently serving as a backup crew member for the

Artemis II Artemis II is a planned mission under the NASA-led Artemis program, set to be the second launch of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the first crewed flight of the Orion (spacecraft), Orion spacecraft. Scheduled to launch in early 2026, ...

mission under NASA's

Artemis program The Artemis program is a Exploration of the Moon, Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), formally established in 2017 via Space Policy Directive 1. The program's stated long-ter ...

Personal life and education

Douglas was born in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, and raised in

Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, making it the second-most populous city in Virginia, the tenth largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 92nd-most populous city in the ...

. He graduated from

Western Branch High School Western Branch High School (WBHS) is a suburban high school in Chesapeake, Virginia, United States. Established in 1968, it currently has over 2100 students. The two feeder schools of WBHS are Joliff Middle School and Western Branch Middle School ...

in 2003, where he was a member of the

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is one of the oldest, largest, and most widely recognized cocurricular student organizations in American high schools, with 1.4 million members. The purpose of the NHS is to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to ...

. He earned a

bachelor’s degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years (de ...

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 2008, where he also served as regimental commander. Douglas later completed four post-graduate degrees: a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in

naval architecture Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the engineering design process, shipbuilding, maintenance, and op ...

and

marine engineering Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circ ...

, both from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

(2012), a master’s degree in

electrical Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

and

computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...

engineering from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

(2019), and a doctorate in

systems engineering Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their Enterprise life cycle, life cycles. At its core, systems engineering uti ...

from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

(2021). , Douglas is married and has two sons. In his free time, he enjoys

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion by which humans and other animals move quickly on foot. Running is a gait with an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is in contrast to walkin ...

ping-pong Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue stick, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . Cue sports, a category of stic ...

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

, and watching

movies A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

Career

U.S. Coast Guard

After graduating from the academy in 2008, Douglas served as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, holding operational and engineering roles. His first assignment was aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant based out of

Cape Canaveral, Florida Cape Canaveral is a city in Brevard County, Florida. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne– Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 9,912 at the 2020 US census. History After the establishment of a lighthouse in 184 ...

, where he participated in migrant interdiction, humanitarian relief, and drug enforcement operations. He later worked at the Coast Guard Marine Safety Center, conducting hundreds of technical reviews for maritime compliance and providing global support on maritime casualty response as a naval architect.

Applied Physics Laboratory

In 2015, Douglas transitioned out of active duty and joined the

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (or simply Applied Physics Laboratory, or APL) is a not-for-profit university-affiliated research center (UARC) in Howard County, Maryland. It is affiliated with Johns Hopkins University ...

(APL), contributing to space exploration, underwater robotics, and ocean systems missions. He played a key role in enhancing U.S. ballistic missile defense, piloted unmanned surface vessels in Navy operations, and supported NASA's

Double Asteroid Redirection Test The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was a NASA space mission aimed at testing a method of planetary defense against near-Earth objects (NEOs). It was designed to assess how much a spacecraft impact deflects an asteroid through its trans ...

(DART) mission. He also contributed to MEGANE, a gamma-ray and

neutron spectrometer Neutron spectroscopy is a spectroscopic method of measuring atomic and magnetic motions by measuring the kinetic energy of emitted neutrons. The measured neutrons may be emitted directly (for example, by nuclear reactions), or they may scatter off ...

for Japan’s

Martian Moons eXploration Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) is a robotic space probe set for launch in 2026 to bring back the first samples from Mars' largest moon Phobos. Developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and announced on 9 June 2015, MMX will l ...

spacecraft. His research focused on autonomous swarm behaviors in unmanned systems, predicting and quantifying their performance over time. As part of the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium at APL, he collaborated with NASA to assess lunar surface needs and guide technology development.

NASA

On December 6, 2021, Douglas was selected as one of 10 candidates in the

NASA Astronaut Group 23 NASA Astronaut Group 23 (nicknamed The Flies) was announced on December 6, 2021, with the class reporting for duty in January 2022. Twelve astronaut candidates were selected, including seven men and five women. History NASA announced the creat ...

. He reported for duty in January 2022 and completed astronaut candidate training on March 5, 2024. After graduation, Douglas was commissioned as a

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in the

. In addition to his NASA duties, he will serve on an advisory group to the

Commandant of the Coast Guard Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

focusing on autonomous maritime systems, public affairs, and recruiting. On July 3, 2024, NASA announced Douglas as the backup crew member for

, the first crewed test flight of the

. He will train alongside NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch. If one of them is unable to participate in the mission, Douglas will take their place. The approximately 10-day Artemis II test flight will launch on NASA's

Space Launch System The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American Super heavy-lift launch vehicle, super heavy-lift Expendable launch system, expendable launch vehicle used by NASA. As the primary launch vehicle of the Artemis program, Artemis Moon landing progra ...

(SLS) rocket, test the Orion spacecraft’s life-support systems, and validate the capabilities and techniques needed for humans to live and work in deep space. The mission is currently scheduled for no earlier than April 2026.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Andre American astronauts Living people 1985 births United States Coast Guard Academy alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni University of Michigan people George Washington University alumni American systems engineers