Michael Fincke

Who is Michael Fincke?

Edward Michael "Mike"/"Spanky" Fincke is an American astronaut who currently holds the American record for the most time in space. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but considers its suburb Emsworth to be his hometown. He is a United States Air Force officer and a NASA astronaut, and served two tours aboard the International Space Station as a flight engineer and commander. He flew on one Space Shuttle mission, STS-134 as a Mission Specialist. Fincke is conversant in Japanese and Russian. He is married to Renita Saikia, and together they have three children; son Chandra and daughters Tarali and Surya.

Fincke logged just under 382 days in space, placing him first among American astronauts for the most time in space, and 19th overall. He completed nine spacewalks in Russian Orlan spacesuits and American EMUs. His total EVA time is 48 hours and 37 minutes placing him 6th all time on the list of spacewalkers.