JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- There are more active four-star generals in the U.S. Armed Forces than active NASA astronauts on Earth—and one of those elite 37 space explorers had his boots planted firmly on the ground at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst on June 22.
Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Mike Fincke, an active NASA astronaut and Pennsylvania native, brought his decades of military and spaceflight experience to the installation, inspiring both service members and children.
"Having astronaut Mike Fincke here was a tremendous opportunity for our joint force family," said U.S. Air Force Col. Michael Stefanovic, JB MDL and 87th Air Base Wing commander. " Col Fincke showed us what collaboration and teamwork can accomplish in an extremely challenging environment. Space is truly the final frontier.”
Before he ever reached orbit, Fincke compiled a highly decorated academic and military background. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University, Fincke brought his dual degrees in aeronautics and astronautics straight into the U.S. Air Force. There, he pushed the limits as a flight test engineer, logging over 2,000 flight hours across more than 30 different aircraft, including the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. His technical and operational skills ultimately took him to the rank of colonel and made him a natural fit for the NASA astronaut corps, which he joined in 1996.
Fincke’s NASA career has been defined by long-duration endurance and high-stakes problem-solving. The veteran astronaut is one of only a few people to have flown to space aboard a Space Shuttle, a Russian Soyuz and most recently a Falcon 9 Dragon. Over his first three spaceflights—which included commanding International Space Station Expedition 18 and flying as a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Endeavour—he spent more than a year off the planet and conducted nine spacewalks. Drawing on his extensive test pilot background, Fincke has been deeply involved in new spacecraft development through NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. He recently flew to ISS for a fourth time as the pilot of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission. Once docked he served as ISS Expedition 74 Commander and returned safely to Earth after a five-month mission. Fincke has lived and worked in orbit a combined 549 days, placing him fourth on the all-time duration list for NASA astronauts, and with his nine trips out of the hatch, he’s ranked in the top 20 of spacewalkers globally.
The lessons Fincke learned sustaining team morale and mission focus during extended stays aboard the ISS translate directly to the demands of military deployment. At the core of both environments is a simple, enduring truth: people want to succeed and they want to do it together.
“When you’re doing something as joyous and wonderful and amazing as spaceflight, it should be fun. But not all humans get along, so we talked about it,” said Fincke. “What’s important to us as a crew? Who do we want to be? Also, the biggest thing, especially in this last mission, was to give each other grace, to give the ground (team) grace and give yourself grace…that really worked for us.”
Building trust and unity among members with fundamentally different cultural backgrounds is also important as one must work closely alongside international partners on the ISS.
“On my last mission, we flew with three Russians and a Japanese guy. A lot of cultural understanding and respect…but you must work towards it,” said Fincke. “I’m lucky because I speak Russian and Japanese, and if we don’t quite understand each other, we try very hard to. One of my personal techniques is humor. Don’t think Russians have a sense of humor? Oh my goodness! And the Japanese can be funny as heck. Once we can understand and trust each other, then we can truly work together.”
Spaceflight is unpredictable, and despite best efforts, emergencies are inevitable. Fincke’s formula for survival is straightforward: trust your team, trust your training and keep your composure. Unexpected launch scrubs also happen, sometimes with less than a minute to go to liftoff, keeping a good attitude is key.
“We were on the launch pad and it was down to 53 seconds (to liftoff), and they (mission control) said, ‘scrub, scrub, scrub’ (due to weather)…and we were frustrated,” explained Fincke. “We all just let the frustration out and then someone said it’s ok, we’ll get them tomorrow, we’ll go back to crew quarters and have some ice cream. It’s really having that attitude and having people just say…it’s still okay.”
For those interested in a career in space exploration, in addition to NASA, there are now space companies that are looking for a lot of people with military experience and service. As former military himself, Fincke explains the advantages of having that background since knowing how to be operational, work in teams, make things happen and be flexible are very valuable to NASA and other space companies.
Like military service, time in the astronaut corps can mean long-duration missions and long separations from family. Fincke acknowledged the stress that can be put on families, and that it is essential to have those important conversations to see how to best make it work for everyone. There is also a NASA family support structure in place to help families during deployment.
“NASA took a lot of pages out of the Air Force, Navy and Army handbooks and try to make things nice for the families,” said Fincke. “During my first mission, my wife had our second child and NASA really stepped up and made sure she was supported and didn’t have to drive herself to the hospital. I had a video sent to space and they gave me the day off from working to be there for my family and friends."
The evolution of technologies from the early days of Fincke’s astronaut career to his most recent mission on Crew-11 has allowed for greater connection to family while deployed. While he was on the ISS, Fincke’s three grown children, though geographically separated, and his wife, were all able to connect on a video teleconference every Sunday, bringing him great joy in knowing that spaceflight brought his family together even though everyone was somewhere else.
Fincke sees a connection between the mission of our military and the mission of NASA and international diplomacy on the ISS. He emphasized his gratitude to everyone at the installation who is being of service and contributing to the achievement of these goals.
“I don’t think we could send people to the moon like we just did with Artemis 2, and other missions, if we didn’t have a solid base of professionals, and people that make big sacrifices so that our country can be so prosperous…and so many people from NASA have come from the military,” said Fincke. “I just wanted to make sure we said thank you to everyone at this base for their hard work, their sacrifices, and hopefully they also find the joy of it is in serving. Thank you for your service.”
The sentiment was mutual. For Fincke, the visit offered an opportunity to connect with the next generation of men and women whose dedication mirrored the teamwork and perseverance he has relied on during his years in space. For the installation and its youngest future space explorers, it was a chance to hear first-hand how the qualities such as discipline, adaptability, hard work and willingness to push beyond perceived limits translate to the frontier of space exploration.
"It’s not every day you have an opportunity to meet an astronaut," said Stefanovic. "His captivating stories showed us that we can reach orbit."