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NASA Astronaut Edward M. Fincke

E. Michael Fincke was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1996. The Pennsylvania native is the veteran of three spaceflights: Expedition 9 in 2004, Expedition 18 in 2009, and STS-134 in 2011. He flew to the space station for the fourth time on August 1, 2025, with the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission where he served as a pilot. Now aboard the space station, Fincke is serving as an Expedition 73 flight engineer.

Quick Facts

Fincke graduated from MIT in 1989 and immediately attended a summer exchange program with the Moscow Aviation Institute in the former Soviet Union where he studied cosmonautics.

Fincke graduated from MIT in 1989 and immediately attended a summer exchange program with the Moscow Aviation Institute in the former Soviet Union where he studied cosmonautics.

Fincke was the commander of the second NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO 2) mission, living and working underwater for 7 days in May of 2002, and was on the CAVES 2012 crew, living underground and exploring for six days, sponsored by the European Space Agency in September 2012.

Fincke was the commander of the second NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO 2) mission, living and working underwater for 7 days in May of 2002, and was on the CAVES 2012 crew, living underground and exploring for six days, sponsored by the European Space Agency in September 2012.

The Pennsylvania native is the veteran of three spaceflights, Expedition 9 in 2004, Expedition 18 in 2009, and STS-134 in 2011.

The Pennsylvania native is the veteran of three spaceflights, Expedition 9 in 2004, Expedition 18 in 2009, and STS-134 in 2011.

(18 December 2009) Official portrait of astronaut and STS-134 crew member Mike Fincke in an EMU. (Credit: NASA/Bill Stafford)

NASA astronauts Suni Williams, left, and Mike Fincke, right, pose for photographs while visiting NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, May 18, 2022, in advance of the agency’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on May 19, 2022. (Credit: NASA/Isaac Watson)

(27 May 2011) Close-up view of STS-134 Mission Specialist (MS-1) Michael Fincke working to replace an Electrical Flight Grapple Fixture (EFGF) with a Power and Data Grapple Fixture (PDGF) on the OBSS (Orbiter Boom Sensor System) during the fourth session of Extravehicular Activity (EVA-4). (Credit: NASA)

(21 November 2008) View of (left) Gregory Chamitoff, Sandra Magnus, Stephen G. Bowen, and Michael Fincke as they hold up an MIT Crew banner for a picture in Node 2. (Credit: NASA)

(28 May 2011) NASA astronaut Michael Fincke, STS-134 mission specialist, performs maintenance on the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly in the Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station while space shuttle Endeavour remains docked with the station. (Credit: NASA)

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Biography

Michael Fincke

Learn more about astronaut Michael Fincke, including his flight experience, hobbies, education, background and more.

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View of STS-134 Mission Specialist (MS-1) Michael Fincke waving while working to install the OBSS (Orbiter Boom Sensor System)

(27 may 2011) View of STS-134 Mission Specialist (MS-1) Michael Fincke waving while working to install the OBSS (Orbiter Boom Sensor System) on the S1 truss segment during the fourth session of Extravehicular Activity (EVA-4). (Credit: NASA)

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