Andre Douglas

Andre Douglas (born December 11, 1985) is an American systems engineer, a Coast Guard Reserve officer, and NASA astronaut, and was chosen as a backup crew member for the Artemis II mission under NASA's Artemis program. In 2026, he was announced as a mission specialist on the Artemis III mission.

Personal life and education Douglas was born in Miami, Florida, and raised in Chesapeake, Virginia. He graduated from Western Branch High School in 2004, where he was a member of the National Honor Society.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 2008, where he also served as regimental commander.

, Douglas is married and has two sons. In his free time, he enjoys soccer, basketball, kayaking, hiking, running, ping-pong, billiards, chess, and watching movies.

NASA career

On December 6, 2021, Douglas was selected as one of 10 candidates in the NASA Astronaut Group 23. He reported for duty in January 2022 and completed astronaut candidate training on March 5, 2024. After graduation, Douglas was commissioned as a commander in the Coast Guard Reserve. In addition to his NASA duties, he will serve on an advisory group to the Commandant of the Coast Guard focusing on autonomous maritime systems, public affairs, and recruiting.

On July 3, 2024, NASA announced Douglas as the backup crew member for Artemis II, the first crewed test flight of the Artemis program. He trained alongside NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch. If one of them had been unable to participate in the mission, Douglas would have taken their place. On launch day, Douglas also served as a member of the closeout crew as an Astronaut Support Person, who strapped the other astronauts into their seats as they boarded the Orion capsule. The approximately 10-day Artemis II test flight launched on NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, testing the Orion spacecraft’s life-support systems, and validating the capabilities and techniques needed for humans to live and work in deep space. The mission launched on April 1, 2026, at 6:35:12 PM EDT.

Artemis III On June 9, 2026, NASA announced Douglas as a mission specialist of the Artemis III mission to low Earth orbit, along with NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik and Frank Rubio and ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano.