Michal was born in Poland and immigrated as a child with his family to Southeastern Michigan. At age six, he became forever fascinated with space travel by watching the Apollo Soyuz Test Project. At age nine, he was given a refractor telescope and started learning astronomy. As a child and teenager, Science Fiction was his favorite reading, television, and movie subject. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan, a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington and holds a Professional Mechanical Engineering License with the State of California. Michal lives in Northern California with his wife and children. He enjoys mountaineering, amateur radio, long distance road biking, reading, and amateur astronomy. He has over thirty years of experience working in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering.