NASA Astronaut Mike Fincke Retires After 30 Years and 549 Days in Space

Longtime NASA astronaut Mike Fincke is stepping away from the agency after a 30-year career that included four spaceflight missions, nine spacewalks, and 549 accumulated days in space, according to the agency. Fincke ranks fourth among NASA astronauts in accumulated time in orbit and logged over 48 hours of spacewalking time throughout his career.

Veteran NASA Astronaut Mike Fincke Retires After 30 Years

After exactly 30 years, I am departing NASA, but I remain deeply committed to the work of exploration, Fincke said in a statement shared by the agency.

Selected in 1996 as part of NASA’s 16th astronaut class—nicknamed “The Sardines”—Fincke is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. He is one of only 13 people who launched to orbit from Earth on three different spacecraft, and one of the few Americans certified to fly the Space Shuttle, the Russian Soyuz, the Boeing Starliner, and the SpaceX Crew Dragon.

Spaceflight History and International Space Station Commands

Over his three decades with the space agency, Fincke served in multiple technical roles, including pilot, engineer, astronaut, science officer, and mentor. He also supported station operations from the ground as a capsule communicator (capcom), crew procedures team lead, and crew test support team member in Russia.

NASA Astronaut Mike Fincke Retires After 30 Years and 549 Days in Space — Photo: Astronomy

His flight record spans four distinct missions:

Soyuz TMA-4 (2004): Supported space station Expedition 9 as a science officer and flight engineer, performing four spacewalks.
Soyuz TMA-13 (2008–2009): Served as commander of Expedition 18, helping prepare the station for six-person crews during a command period lasting from October 22, 2008, through April 2, 2009.
STS-134 (2011): Flew on the final flight of space Endeavour as a mission specialist and robotic arm operator, completing three spacewalks to help deliver and install the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.
SpaceX Crew-11 (2025–2026): Piloted the mission launched in August 2025, serving as a flight engineer for Expedition 73 and commander of Expedition 74 from December 7, 2025, through January 12, 2026.

Few people have had the opportunity to shape as many chapters of NASA’s history as Mike Fincke, said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.

Medical Evacuation and Historic Crew-11 Return

Fincke’s retirement follows his final mission aboard the International Space Station, which ended prematurely due to a medical incident. On January 7, while aboard the orbiting laboratory, Fincke experienced a health concern that caused him to temporarily lose his ability to speak for about 20 minutes.

His crewmates—which included Astronomy astronaut Zena Cardman, Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Oleg Platonov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos—responded quickly. Although doctors later ruled out a heart attack or stroke, the medical event marked the first time in history that CNN had to cut short an ISS staffing mission for health reasons.

Working with SpaceX, Astronomy arranged for the Crew-11 spacecraft, the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour, to undocked from the ISS on January 14. The capsule splashed down safely off the coast of San Diego on January 15, allowing Fincke to undergo advanced medical imaging not available on the space station. Fincke later identified himself as the affected crew member and noted that medical researchers are continuing to study the space-related incident.