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Mike Fincke Announces Retirement From NASA After Spaceflight

8/14/2026

Summary

Story summary

Mike Fincke, a U.S. astronaut, announced his retirement from NASA on August 12, 2026.
He leaves as NASA’s fourth-most-flown astronaut with 549 days, nine spacewalks and two ISS commands (Expedition 18, 2008; Expedition 74, Aug 2025–Jan 2026).
A medical issue caused loss of speech on SpaceX Crew-11 launched August 1, 2025, prompting evacuation and splash-down on January 15, 2026.
Scott Tingle, chief of NASA’s Astronaut Office, praised Fincke’s experience, humility and focus.

History

Historical Context

Expedition 1 began on 2 November 2000 when NASA’s William Shepherd and Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev docked aboard Soyuz TM-31, starting the ISS’s uninterrupted human presence. Their three-person crew spent 136 days activating systems and receiving three Space Shuttle deliveries that added power arrays and the Destiny laboratory. This early long-duration stay set the operational baseline for later health-protocol upgrades.

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Story summary

Mike Fincke, a U.S. astronaut, announced his retirement from NASA on August 12, 2026.
He leaves as NASA’s fourth-most-flown astronaut with 549 days, nine spacewalks and two ISS commands (Expedition 18, 2008; Expedition 74, Aug 2025–Jan 2026).
A medical issue caused loss of speech on SpaceX Crew-11 launched August 1, 2025, prompting evacuation and splash-down on January 15, 2026.
Scott Tingle, chief of NASA’s Astronaut Office, praised Fincke’s experience, humility and focus.

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