Hopkins honored with alumni achievement award & homecoming parade grand marshal

Michael S. Hopkins, B.S. ’91, MS ’92, Stanford, is a retired colonel, NASA astronaut and Space Force officer. This week, he is receiving the 2026 University of Illinois Alumni Achievement Award and will serve as the grand marshal of the 2026 Illinois Homecoming parade on Friday, Oct. 2.

For NASA, Hopkins completed two spaceflights, International Space Station Expeditions 37/38 on Soyuz (2013-14) and 64/65 on SpaceX Crew-1 (2020-21). He logged over 330 days in space, conducted five spacewalks totaling more than 32 hours, and played a critical role in transitioning spaceflight from governmental to commercial partners.

NASA honored Hopkins with the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

He served 30 years in the military, including several international assignments. He worked as an exchange officer with the Canadian Flight Test Center and spent six months in language training at the Defense Language Institute in California. He also studied political science at the Università degli Studi di Parma.

In 2005, Hopkins was assigned to the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office at the Pentagon, where he served as a project engineer and program manager. He was selected as a special assistant to the vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2008.

In 2020, Hopkins became the first astronaut member of the U.S. Space Force.

At Illinois, he was the U. of I. commencement speaker in 2014, awarded the Department of Aerospace Engineering’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2017 and The Grainger College of Engineering Alumni Award for Distinguished Service in 2021.

Hopkins makes frequent visits to campus, sharing his time with both the Illinois athletic association and the Department of Aerospace Engineering, where he serves on the alumni board and as a guest speaker in aerospace classes.

In addition to being an aerospace engineering undergrad with its rigorous academic program, Hopkins secured a walk-on position with the Illinois football team where he earned four varsity letters, a starting role in the defensive backfield, and election as a team captain his senior year. One highlight during his time at U. of I. was playing in the 1989 Big Ten Championship.

Also, while being a student at Illinois, Hopkins was named a Distinguished Graduate of the Reserve Officers Training Corps. He was also a Distinguished Graduate and the top flight test engineer in Class 96B of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base. Other medals include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Aerial Achievement Medal, two Air Force Commendation Medals and four Air Force Achievement Medals.