
Scott Tingle
MS mechanical engineering ’88
Born: 1965
Mission: Expedition 54/55
Scott Tingle spent 168 days in space in 2017-18 as part of Expedition 54/55 to the International Space Station. In 2020, NASA selected him as part of the 18-member Artemis Team, tasked with returning humans to the moon and establishing a sustainable human lunar presence by the end of the decade.

Scott Tingle NASA Bio
Learn More
During his space station mission, Tingle performed a 7-hour, 24-minute spacewalk in which he and fellow astronaut Mark Vande Hei replaced one of two redundant latching end effectors on the space station’s robotic arm.
Prior to joining NASA, Tingle became a highly decorated pilot in the U.S. Navy. He was commissioned as a naval officer in 1991 and selected to attend the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1997. He flew F/A-18A/C Hornets alongside Carrier Air Wing Eleven aboard the USS Carl Vinson in the initial air response after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and later flew during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, among other assignments in the Pacific Ocean and Persian Gulf.
A captain in the Navy, Tingle has fought in 54 combat missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, flown 51 types of aircraft, and landed 750 aircraft with carrier arrestments. Among his many awards and honors are a Meritorious Service Medal, three Air Medals and six Navy Commendation Medals.
Tingle came to Purdue to study fluid mechanics and propulsion, hoping his studies might further his efforts to become an astronaut – a dream he had held since watching Purdue alumnus Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon in 1969.
In April 2018, Tingle and fellow Purdue graduate Drew Feustel both played guitar inside the space station’s Destiny laboratory module during an educational event with school districts in Aransas Pass, Texas. Tingle also helped Purdue present an honorary doctorate to Feustel live from the space station during the 2018 Spring Commencement ceremonies.