US Astronaut Mike Fincke Departs NASA | International Space Station
NASA astronaut Edward M. (Mike) Fincke: Expedition 9 science officer and flight engineer, wearing a Russian Orlan spacesuit, participates in the third of four sessions of extravehicular activities (EVA) performed by the Expedition 9 crew during their six-month mission. Fincke and cosmonaut Gennady I. Padalka (out of frame), commander representing Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), spent 4.5 hours outside the Station swapping out experiments and installing hardware associated with Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV). Image Date: August 3, 2004
Commercial Crew Program Astronaut Training - Mike Fincke
Boeing CFT crew member Mike Fincke with backup Barry "Butch" Wilmore during Boeing CFT/59S BU ISS EVA Maintenance 1 PRF training.
Image Date: Feb. 1, 2019
Official Portrait of Astronaut Mike Fincke
Astronaut Edward Michael (Mike) Fincke, commander
Image Date: Feb. 16, 2004
Fincke wears his Russian Sokol pressure suit in the U.S. Lab module during Expedition 9
Astronaut Edward M. (Mike) Fincke, Expedition 9 NASA ISS science officer and flight engineer, wearing a Russian Sokol suit, gives a thumb's up as he floats in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station (ISS).
Image Date: July 7, 2004
Boeing OFT-2 Crew & Science Briefing
E. Michael “Mike” Fincke, NASA astronaut, Crew Flight Test, participates in a crew and science media briefing ahead of Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) during a crew and science briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, July 29, 2021.
Image Date: July 29, 2021
NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-11 Pilot Mike Fincke waves to officials at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas. He departed the International Space Station and returned to Earth the day before aboard the Dragon spacecraft for a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of San Diego, California.
Image Date: Jan. 16, 2026
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke flashes a smile during leak checks for his SpaceX spacesuit inside the crew suit-up room in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, July 31, 2025, during the first attempt of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station.
Image Date: July 31, 2025
Astronaut Edward M. (Mike) Fincke, Expedition 9 NASA ISS science officer and flight engineer, is pictured near fresh fruit floating freely in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station (ISS).
Image Date: May 27, 2004
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke is departing the agency on Wednesday after 30 years of service. Throughout his career, he flew four missions, spent 549 days in space, and completed nine spacewalks in support of the International Space Station.
“Few people have had the opportunity to shape as many chapters of NASA’s history as Mike Fincke,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Over a remarkable career, Mike served our nation as a pilot, engineer, astronaut, and mentor. From long-duration missions aboard the International Space Station to helping prepare the Artemis generation, his contributions have helped position NASA for what comes next. The success we’re building on today is possible because of people like Mike, who dedicated their careers to moving our space program forward and preparing the next generation to carry the mission even further. I’d like to congratulate Mike on an incredible career and thank him for his decades of service to NASA, our nation, and the countless people who had the opportunity to learn from and fly alongside him.”
He ranks fourth among NASA astronauts in accumulated time in space, and his spacewalks total 48 hours and 37 minutes. Most recently, Fincke piloted NASA’s SpaceX Crew‑11 mission that launched in August 2025 and returned in January. During the mission, he served as a flight engineer for International Space Station Expedition 73 and commander of Expedition 74.
Fincke joined NASA’s 16th astronaut class in 1996 and first flew to space in 2004 aboard Soyuz TMA‑4 in support of the space station’s Expedition 9. Serving as a science officer and flight engineer, he helped maintain station systems and performed four spacewalks. He returned to space in 2008 on Soyuz TMA‑13 as commander of Expedition 18, preparing the space station for its transition to six‑person crews at the time and completing two more spacewalks.
In 2011, Fincke flew on STS‑134, the final flight of space shuttle Endeavour. As mission specialist and robotic arm operator, he completed three spacewalks and helped deliver and install the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.
“Mike’s remarkable career reflects three decades of dedication to NASA’s mission and the advancement of human spaceflight,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “From his time aboard the International Space Station to his commitment to mentoring the next generation, Mike has made an immense impact across our agency. His legacy of service, mentorship, and dedication to exploration will continue to inspire the generations to come.”
Throughout his career, Fincke bridged spacecraft development, flight testing, and mission operations. Early in the International Space Station Program, he helped test and integrate several of the station’s initial modules before launch. His flight experience spanned multiple generations of human spacecraft, including two missions aboard Soyuz, one aboard the space shuttle, and later piloting the SpaceX Dragon.
Fincke was a foundational contributor to NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. As chief of the Astronaut Office’s Commercial Crew Branch, he worked to ensure astronaut needs, crew safety, and human spaceflight experience informed development of the nation’s next generation of crewed spacecraft. He spent five years supporting Boeing’s Crew Flight Test program training as a crew member and backup pilot, contributing to flight software, systems integration, integrated testing, and spacecraft interfaces.
Fincke also supported station operations from the ground as a crew test support team member in Russia, a capsule communicator, or capcom, and crew procedures team lead. He helped translate complex engineering and operational requirements into clear instructions for crews working in orbit. His continuity across development, integration, mission support, and long‑duration flight gave him an end‑to‑end perspective on space station assembly and operation.
“Mike approached every assignment with experience, humility, and an unwavering focus on the mission,” said Scott Tingle, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA Johnson. “Whether flying aboard the station, supporting crews from the ground, or helping shape the spacecraft that future crews will rely on, he consistently strengthened our team. His legacy is woven into the way we fly today.”
A native of Emsworth, Pennsylvania, Fincke holds bachelor’s degrees in aeronautics and astronautics and in Earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he also studied in the Soviet Union through an exchange program with the Moscow Aviation Institute. He earned master’s degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University and in planetary geology from the University of Houston, Clear Lake.
Fincke is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. He served as a space systems engineer and flight test engineer at Edwards and Eglin Air Force Bases and later as the U.S. flight test liaison to the Japanese‑U.S. XF‑2 fighter program at Gifu Air Base in Japan. He accumulated more than 2,000 flight hours in more than 30 aircraft types.
“After exactly 30 years, I am departing NASA, but I remain deeply committed to the work of exploration.” Fincke said. “NASA gave me the extraordinary privilege of serving alongside remarkable people, flying and helping develop spacecraft, and contributing to the International Space Station from its earliest days through command in orbit. I am profoundly grateful to my crewmates, the teams on the ground, our international partners, and the families who make this work possible. I am excited to carry those lessons forward and help prepare the next generation of engineers, explorers, and leaders. Together, we will return humanity to the Moon, travel to Mars, journey outward to the planets and moons beyond Earth, and someday reach for the stars – all while caring for Earth, the most beautiful planet in our solar system.”
Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Image Dates: Feb. 16, 2004-Jan. 16, 2026
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