Prolific NASA astronaut Mike Fincke has introduced his retirement from the U.S. house company after 30 years of public service.
NASA introduced Fincke’s choice on Wednesday (Aug. 12), celebrating his contributions to spaceflight and lengthy profession of accomplishments.
“Few individuals have had the chance to form as many chapters of NASA’s historical past as Mike Fincke,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman mentioned that day in a statement. Fincke departs as NASA’s fourth-most flown astronaut, racking up a cumulative 549 days in space over 4 separate spaceflights. Throughout these, he carried out 9 spacewalks and served twice as commander of the International Space Station (ISS). Most just lately, he launched as pilot on SpaceX’s Crew-11 mission to the ISS, moving into the position of commander for ISS Expedition 74 from August 2025 to January 2026.
Earlier than his acceptance into NASA’s sixteenth astronaut class in 1996, Fincke earned two bachelor’s levels from the Massachusetts Institute of Know-how (MIT), in aeronautics and astronautics in addition to Earth science, atmospheric and planetary sciences. Following his time at MIT, he did a summer time stint on the Moscow Aviation Institute and later earned grasp’s levels in aeronautics and astronautics, and in planetary geology from Stanford and the College of Houston-Clear Lake, respectively.
Fincke additionally served within the U.S. Air Power previous to his profession at NASA. He graduated from the U.S. Air Power Check Pilot College in 1994, then was assigned as an area methods engineer and flight check engineer at Edwards and Eglin Air Power bases in California and Florida, respectively. These stints have been adopted by his position as U.S. flight-test liaison for the Japanese-U.S. XF-2 fighter program in Japan.
Following his two years of astronaut-candidate coaching, Fincke was assigned to NASA’s Astronaut Workplace Station Operations Department’s Crew Check Help Staff in Russia. There, he served as ISS CAPCOM (Spacecraft Communicator) and ISS crew procedures workforce lead till he started official spaceflight coaching in 1999.
His first rocket launch was aboard the Soyuz TMA-4 mission to the ISS in 2004, the place he served as science officer and flight engineer for Expedition 9 and accomplished 4 EVAs (extravehicular actions, or spacewalks).
Fincke’s second launch introduced him again to the ISS in 2008, as a member of Soyuz TMA-13. It was then that Fincke took command of the house station for the primary time. As Expedition 18 commander, Fincke added two extra EVAs to his profession whole and oversaw the preparation of ISS services to start supporting a rise from three-person to six-person crews.
Fincke was additionally aboard for the ultimate launch of NASA’s space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-134 mission in 2011, which returned him to the ISS for a 3rd time. As mission specialist and robotic-arm operator, he supported the set up of the house station’s dark-matter-hunting Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) instrument, and carried out three extra EVAs that marked the official completion of ISS orbital meeting and have been the last-ever spacewalks by a space shuttle crew.
By 2014, Fincke was serving as chief of the Astronaut Workplace’s Business Crew Department, the place he performed a key position within the growth and testing of the SpaceX Crew Dragon and Boeing Starliner spacecraft. In January 2019, he was assigned to Boeing’s Crew Flight Check (CFT) mission as joint operations commander, and he remained on the prime crew till June 2022, when he transitioned to the CFT backup crew.
Fincke’s most up-to-date mission, Crew-11, launched to the ISS in August 2025. It was the second time he was appointed commander of the house station, this time for Expedition 74, however his stint, and that of the opposite Crew-11 astronauts, was reduce quick because of an sudden medical concern.
Main as much as what would have been his tenth profession EVA, NASA abruptly canceled spacewalk prep by Fincke and fellow NASA astronaut Zena Cardman after a “medical concern” arose that took precedence over the deliberate station upkeep. Although not thought of an emergency, the episode was deemed critical sufficient for NASA to return the Crew-11 astronauts to Earth sooner than anticipated, and Fincke and his fellow crewmates safely splashed down within the Pacific Ocean aboard their SpaceX Crew Dragon per week later.
In the course of the mission, NASA didn’t reveal the astronaut’s title and situation, citing privateness considerations. A bit of greater than a month after Crew-11’s return, nonetheless, NASA and Fincke revealed that he was the crew member who skilled the medical concern, which he later described as a short lived incapacity to talk, in line with an Associated Press report. Fincke totally recovered from the episode and is now in good well being.
“Mike approached each task with expertise, humility, and an unwavering deal with the mission,” mentioned Scott Tingle, chief of NASA’s Astronaut Workplace, within the company’s announcement. “Whether or not flying aboard the station, supporting crews from the bottom, or serving to form the spacecraft that future crews will depend on, he persistently strengthened our workforce. His legacy is woven into the best way we fly at the moment.”
NASA didn’t point out if Fincke plans to proceed his involvement with the house business by means of the non-public sector, however did spotlight his dedication to help humanity’s drive to discover the cosmos.
“I stay deeply dedicated to the work of exploration,” Fincke mentioned within the assertion. “NASA gave me the extraordinary privilege of serving alongside outstanding individuals, flying and serving to develop spacecraft, and contributing to the Worldwide Area Station from its earliest days by means of command in orbit … I’m excited to hold these classes ahead and assist put together the following technology of engineers, explorers, and leaders.”
