What does it really take to become a NASA astronaut, stare down failure, lose friends in flight, and still strap back onto a rocket? In this episode of Vytal Sines, NASA astronaut Michael “Mike” Fincke (4 spaceflights, ISS veteran, Crew-11 pilot) unpacks the mindset, data-driven decision-making, and resilience required to push human exploration forward.
From flunking out of pilot training on his birthday to flying Soyuz, Space Shuttle Endeavour, and Crew Dragon, Mike walks through:
How “luck favors the prepared”
What it’s actually like to dogfight in an F‑16 and test-fly Japan’s XF-2
Training and flying with Russian cosmonauts and living on the ISS
Processing Challenger and Columbia, and why we must keep flying
The real story behind the Crew‑11 medical incident and emergency return
How today’s hard lessons feed directly into Artemis and our return to the Moon
If you care about spaceflight, test pilots, high-stakes decision-making, resilience, and Artemis, this conversation is a masterclass.
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Learn more about Astronaut Mike Fincke:
• https://x.com/AstroIronMike
• https://www.nasa.gov/people/edward-michael-mike-fincke/
Timestamps
0:00 – Astronaut Mike Fincke on risk, resilience & “luck favors the prepared”
0:39 – What Vytal Sines is about + Mike’s spaceflight resume (Soyuz, Shuttle, Dragon)
5:35 – Origin story: blue-collar Pittsburgh, big dreams & becoming resilient
8:50 – Failing out of pilot training on his birthday & building a Plan B to NASA
14:59 – Test pilot school, first F‑16 flights & falling in love with flight test
20:29 – Learning Japanese, Japan exchange & flying/engineering the XF‑2 fighter
34:29 – Soyuz, ISS, Columbia, and how the U.S.–Russia partnership kept station alive
45:00 – Crew‑11 medical scare: coming home early, data-driven decisions & safety
50:28 – What ISS teaches us for Artemis, lunar bases & future exploration
52:15 – Family, traditions, and life after your last spaceflight
Vytal Sines is co-hosted by Paul Wizikowski & Ryan Cristelli. Recorded here on Earth with Stories from the edge of absurd. Media production by Vytal Space LLC.
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