Terry Virts

Military career

Virts started his Air Force service as a second lieutenant after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1989. He earned his pilot wings at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona, then completed basic fighter lead-in training at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, followed by F-16 training with the 56th Tactical Fighter Wing at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. He was assigned to the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing at Homestead Air Force Base, Florida, but after Hurricane Andrew hit southern Florida in 1992, his squadron moved to Moody Air Force Base, Georgia.

Later postings included the 36th Fighter Squadron at Osan Air Base, South Korea, and the 22nd Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. In 1997, he was picked for test pilot school at Edwards Air Force Base, California. After graduating, he worked as an experimental test pilot at the F-16 Combined Test Force at MacDill Air Force Base. Over his career, he accumulated more than 5,300 flight hours in 40 different aircraft.

NASA career

NASA selected Virts as a Space Shuttle pilot in 2000. He served as the lead astronaut for the NASA T-38 program and was part of the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory test crew. In 2004, he supported Expedition 9 as a crew support astronaut and worked as a Capsule Communicator. He later became the lead astronaut for the Space Launch System program.

On February 8, 2010, he piloted STS-130 aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour, the final assembly flight of the ISS, delivering the Tranquility module and the Cupola; the mission landed on February 22, 2010. On November 23, 2014, he launched on Soyuz TMA-15M with Samantha Cristoforetti and Anton Shkaplerov from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, docking at the ISS about six hours later. On February 28, 2015, he paid tribute to Leonard Nimoy from space by tweeting an image of himself doing the Vulcan salute as the ISS flew over Boston, Nimoy's hometown.

With the departure of Soyuz TMA-14M in March 2015, he became commander of the ISS for Expedition 43. The mission ended with a landing on June 11, 2015, in Kazakhstan. Virts retired from NASA in August 2016.

Post-NASA career and politics

After leaving NASA, Virts moved into public speaking, podcasting—including hosting his own show "Down To Earth"—business consulting, writing, filmmaking, and screenwriting. On July 11, 2019, he was part of an eight-person crew that set a record for the fastest airplane trip around the world via both poles, completing it in 46 hours, 40 minutes, and 22 seconds. Guinness World Records and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale recognized the feat.

He appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience on December 11, 2020. In 2022, he joined Group Of Humans, a global community of experts, contributing to their "One Step Further" lunar initiative. He entered politics in June 2025, announcing a run for the U.S. Senate in Texas for the seat held by John Cornyn, calling himself a "common-sense Democrat" who opposes illegal immigration but supports legal immigration. He dropped that bid in November 2025 and instead declared his candidacy for the U.S. House in Texas's 9th Congressional District.

Awards and honors

Virts earned several military decorations, including the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal, and Air Force Commendation Medal. He was a member of Expedition 42 on the ISS, and the European Space Agency commissioned Lego mini-figures of the crew, including Virts, Samantha Cristoforetti, and Anton Shkaplerov.

Did You Know?

• Virts attended the École de l'Air in 1988 on an exchange program while at the Air Force Academy.
• He completed a General Management Program at Harvard Business School in 2011 while at NASA.