Meet NASA Astronaut Mike Fincke, Crew-11 Pilot

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke is the pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission. This is his fourth spaceflight. The Pennsylvania native also traveled to space as part of Expedition 9 in 2004, Expedition 18 in 2009, and STS-134 in 2011. He was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1996. Upon his arrival to the International Space Station with Crew-11, he became an Expedition 73 flight engineer and began a long-duration science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory. For Expedition 9, Fincke served as Science Officer and Flight Engineer during his six-month stay aboard the space station. While there, he performed four spacewalks. For Expedition 18, Fincke served as station commander, where he and his crew prepared the station for future six-person crews. For STS-134, he served as mission specialist and completed three spacewalks. Col. Fincke has logged more than a year in orbit, with nine spacewalks totaling 48 hours and 37 minutes of spacewalking time. In addition to his time in space, Fincke also played a crucial role in Boeing’s Crew Flight Test (CFT) program. He served as backup pilot for the CFT mission and prime pilot for the Starliner-1 mission, contributing significantly to Starliner’s development through his work in the Avionics and Software Integration Lab (ASIL), focusing on flight software refinement, systems integration, and human-spaceflight interfaces.

What is said in the film

Human beings, part of our nature, part of who we are, our identity, is explorers. Because every time we explore, we improve our lives and our situations. It's just natural. My name is Mike Fincke, and I'm the pilot for NASA's SpaceX crew 11 mission to the International Space Station. I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home of the mighty Steelers.

And it was a great time to grow up. Lots of great educational opportunities. A time that was tough economically, but, a place where we knew that dreams could come true. When I was, like, two and three years old, my parents would wake me up from whatever nap I was taking to watch moon landings. We did many moon landings back in the late 60s and early 70s, and that made a big impression on me.

So I knew that back then, even when I was, like, three that I wanted to be an astronaut. I wanted to go walk on the moon. I wanted to go explore space. So I learned to read so I could read more about space. And the more I read, the more excited I became.

When I was in high school, I didn't know what engineering was. I knew what math and science were. Physics. I was kind of good at that. Math.

I took a leap of faith and went to an engineering program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT. Thankfully paid for by an Air Force ROTC scholarship and then hustling with side gigs on the weekends. And I got to study airplanes and rockets, two of my favorite things. So I was able to graduate from MIT with two degrees. And then, the summer after graduation, I had a really wonderful opportunity to study in Soviet Union.

Fortunately, I'd studied Russian language, so I knew enough Russian, to go with some colleagues. And we spent the summer at Moscow Aviation Institute studying cosmonautics, And then I spent, the next year at Stanford University getting a Master's in Aeronautics and Astronautics. I love the space station. I helped build it. I helped the first modules get ready here on planet Earth and have had the the joy of living aboard the space station for two long duration missions so far.

We've learned from the International Space Station that space is a great place to really understand more about the universe. When we are aboard the International Space Station, we’re still gravitationally connected to planet Earth, but we're freefalling. So like, we're in microgravity. So you take that Big G out of the equation and then you can find out what's really going on physically. We're also outside the atmosphere.

So we can look to the universe beyond us without atmospheric interference. When I'm on a spacewalk, I can look out to the whole universe, and I can see how small our planet is and how big and wonderful the rest of the universe is. And it's calling to us. We need to explore and go see the whole universe that's out there. Space exploration is something that really speaks to me as a person, right?

We all kind of have our passions. And for me, since I was like 2 or 3 years old, I wanted to go to space. Explore space. And I've had a chance to do that. Half my life I've been an astronaut.

I've really, really enjoyed exploring space.

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