{{Short description|American astronaut (born 1974)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}} {{Infobox astronaut |name = Jack Fischer |image = Astronaut Jack Fischer at Air and Space Museum (NHQ201711030007) (cropped).jpg |caption = Fisher at the National Air and Space Museum in 2017 |birth_name = Jack David Fischer |birth_date = {{birth date and age|1974|1|23}} |birth_place = Louisville, Colorado, U.S. |death_date = |death_place = |education = United States Air Force Academy (BS)<br>Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS) |type = NASA astronaut |rank = Colonel, USAF |time = 135d 18h 8m<ref name="spacefacts"/> |selection = NASA Group 20 (2009) |evas = 2 |eva_time = 6h 54m |mission = Soyuz MS-04 (Expedition 51/52) |insignia = 50px 55px }} '''Jack David Fischer''' (born January 23, 1974) is an American engineer, test pilot and a former NASA astronaut.<ref name="newclass">{{Cite press release |date=June 29, 2009 |title=NASA Selects New Astronauts for Future Space Exploration |url=https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-selects-nine-new-astronauts-for-future-space-exploration/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103224008/https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-selects-nine-new-astronauts-for-future-space-exploration/ |archive-date=January 3, 2024 |access-date=June 29, 2009 |publisher=NASA |id=09-149 }}</ref> Fischer was selected in June 2009 as a member of the NASA Astronaut Group 20 and qualified as an astronaut in 2011. He made his first spaceflight in April 2017, as a flight engineer for Expedition 51/52 on the International Space Station.
==Personal== Fischer was born January 23, 1974, in Louisville, Colorado. He is married to Elizabeth Simonson from Boulder, Colorado. They have two daughters. Fischer's father, Gary Fischer, is deceased, and his mother, JoBelle Fischer, still lives near Louisville, Colorado.
==Education== In 1992, he graduated from Centaurus High School, in Lafayette, Colorado. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Astronautical Engineering at the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1996. He completed a Master of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1998.<ref name="bio"/>
==U.S. Air Force service== thumb|left| Fischer during F-22 Flight Testing Fischer is a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He attended Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, in 1998. Afterwards he attended F-15E Strike Eagle training at Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, before being assigned as an operational pilot in the 391st Fighter Squadron Bold Tigers.
Fischer served two combat tours in Southwest Asia following September 11, 2001, and was part of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Southern Watch over Afghanistan and Iraq.
He is a 2004 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (Class 03B) at Edwards Air Force Base, California, and was presented with the Onizuka Prop Wash Award.<ref name="bio">{{Cite web |date=May 2018 |title=Jack D. Fischer Biography |url=https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/fischer-jack.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224103330/https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/fischer-jack.pdf |archive-date=February 24, 2024 |access-date=January 21, 2021 |publisher=NASA }}</ref>
In 2006, Fischer again returned to Edwards Air Force Base, as part of the F-22 Combined Test Force and 411th Flight Test Squadron testing the F-22 Raptor. In 2008, he was selected as a Strategic Policy Intern in Washington, D.C. While serving at The Pentagon, Fischer served in the Chairman's Action Group for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and in the Space and Intelligence Capabilities Office with the Senior Advisor for the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.
Colonel Fischer is an Air Force Command Pilot with 3,000 flight hours in more than 45 types of aircraft.<ref name="bio"/>
==NASA career== Fischer was selected in June 2009 as a member of the NASA Astronaut Group 20 and qualified as an astronaut in 2011.<ref name="newclass"/> Fischer has worked in the Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM) Soyuz, International Space Station Operations, International Space Station Integration, and Exploration branches of the Astronaut Office.
In 2013, Fischer served as cavenaut into the ESA CAVES<ref name="acta-astro-speleology">{{Cite journal |last1=Sauro |first1=Francesco |last2=De Waele |first2=Jo |last3=Payler |first3=Samuel J. |last4=Vattano |first4=Marco |last5=Sauro |first5=Francesco Maria |last6=Turchi |first6=Leonardo |last7=Bessone |first7=Loredana |date=July 1, 2021 |title=Speleology as an analogue to space exploration: The ESA CAVES training programme |url=https://cris.unibo.it/retrieve/00e6dd9a-2dc9-4359-b638-ba56b1ff5792/2021%20Sauro%20et%20al%20Acta%20Astronautica_Manuscript_review%20v10_clear.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Acta Astronautica |volume=184 |pages=150–166 |bibcode=2021AcAau.184..150S |doi=10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.04.003 |issn=0094-5765 |s2cid=234819922 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240927200816/https://cris.unibo.it/retrieve/00e6dd9a-2dc9-4359-b638-ba56b1ff5792/2021%20Sauro%20et%20al%20Acta%20Astronautica_Manuscript_review%20v10_clear.pdf |archive-date=September 27, 2024 |hdl-access=free |hdl=11585/819077 }}</ref> training in Sardinia, alongside Jeremy Hansen, Michael Barratt, Satoshi Furukawa, Aleksei Ovchinin and Paolo Nespoli.
===Expedition 51/52=== thumb|right| Fischer (second left) with the rest of the Expedition 51 crew in the cupola Originally assigned to the Expedition 52/53 crew, he was reassigned to launch aboard Soyuz MS-04 to the ISS in April 2017 as a flight engineer for Expedition 51/52.<ref name="exp50">{{Cite press release |date=November 15, 2016 |title=NASA Updates 2017 International Space Station Crew Assignments |url=https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-updates-2017-international-space-station-crew-assignments/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240725165222/https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-updates-2017-international-space-station-crew-assignments/ |archive-date=July 25, 2024 |access-date=November 22, 2016 |publisher=NASA |id=16-105 }}</ref>
thumb|left| Fischer and Yurchikhin prior to launching on Soyuz MS-04
Fischer launched aboard MS-04 on April 20, 2017. They docked with the station approximately 6 hours after launch, being the first crew of a Soyuz-MS series to make the shorter 6 hour rendezvous instead of the 2 day orbital rendezvous of the previous launches.
On May 13, 2017, Fischer performed his first career EVA with Peggy Whitson. The EVA was shortened due to an issue ahead of the spacewalk where the spacewalkers had to share a SCU (Service Cooling Unit) line after the umbilical for Fischer's EMU suffered from a leak. His suit was in good shape, but the line could not be used. The impact on the EMU battery life meant the full EVA duration couldn't be conducted. They replaced an avionics box on the starboard truss called an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier (ELC), a storage platform. The duration was 4 hours and 13 minutes, and it was the 200th EVA to be performed on the ISS.<ref name="eva">{{Cite news |last=Harding |first=Pete |date=May 12, 2017 |title=ISS astronauts complete 200th station EVA for maintenance tasks |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/05/iss-astronauts-200th-station-eva-maintenance-tasks/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240802200824/https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/05/iss-astronauts-200th-station-eva-maintenance-tasks/ |archive-date=August 2, 2024 |access-date=May 13, 2017 |work=NASASpaceflight.com }}</ref> thumb|right| Fischer during an EVA in 2017 On May 23, 2017, Fischer performed his second EVA with Whitson. They replaced a backup multiplexer-demultiplexer (MDM) unit that had failed on May 20, 2017. The duration was 2 hours and 46 minutes.<ref name="eva2">{{Cite web |title=EVAs: Jack D. Fischer |url=http://spacefacts.de/eva/astronauts/english/fischer_jack.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416105559/http://www.spacefacts.de/eva/astronauts/english/fischer_jack.htm |archive-date=April 16, 2023 |access-date=January 21, 2021 |website=spacefacts.de }}</ref>
Fischer returned to Earth along with Peggy Whitson and Fyodor Yurchikhin aboard Soyuz MS-04 on September 3, 2017.<ref name="return">{{Cite news |last=Held |first=Amy |date=August 6, 2017 |title='American Space Ninja' Back On Earth After Record-Breaking Flight |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/03/548295156/-american-space-ninja-peggy-whitson-back-on-earth-after-record-breaking-flight |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240527022743/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/03/548295156/-american-space-ninja-peggy-whitson-back-on-earth-after-record-breaking-flight |archive-date=May 27, 2024 |access-date=September 3, 2017 |work=NPR }}</ref> The overall duration of his stay in space was 135 days, 18 hours and 8 minutes.<ref name="spacefacts">{{Cite web |title=Astronaut biography: Jack Fischer |url=http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/fischer_jack.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430164202/http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/fischer_jack.htm |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |access-date=September 5, 2017 |website=spacefacts.de }}</ref>
On May 24, 2018, he announced his early retirement from NASA to return to Air Force Service.<ref name="fischer-20180524">{{Cite tweet |first=Jack D. |last=Fischer |number=999742305966829569 |user=Astro2fish |title=What's next? @USAirForce @AFSpace – I'm leaving @NASA and heading back to the blue. I'm so proud to be joining a world class team of Airmen that give everything they have to keep the ultimate high ground safe. Go Air Force! |author-link=Jack D. Fischer |date=May 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410015821/https://twitter.com/Astro2fish/status/999742305966829569 |archive-date=April 10, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> {{-}}
==Subsequent career==
Following retirement from NASA, Fischer served as the Chief Technology Officer for Collins Aerospace in Houston. In February 2021, Fischer joined Intuitive Machines as Vice President of Strategic Programs,<ref name="intuitive-20210222">{{Cite press release |date=February 22, 2021 |title=Intuitive Machines Welcomes Former Astronaut as Vice President of Strategic Programs |url=https://www.intuitivemachines.com/post/intuitive-machines-welcomes-former-astronaut-as-vice-president-of-strategic-programs |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714161201/https://www.intuitivemachines.com/post/intuitive-machines-welcomes-former-astronaut-as-vice-president-of-strategic-programs |archive-date=July 14, 2024 |publisher=Intuitive Machines |place=Houston, Texas }}</ref> and during their IM-1 mission Fischer served as one of the Mission Directors.<ref name="fischer-20240228">{{Cite tweet |first=Jack D. |last=Fischer |number=1762842302437879999 |user=Astro2fish |title=I'm might be a bit biased, but of the Red, White and Blue teams- white is best 😏. I am humbled to be counted among this incredible collection of talent - amazing individuals and an even better team that drove Odie like a boss. |author-link=Jack D. Fischer |date=February 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240927201943/https://x.com/Astro2fish/status/1762842302437879999 |archive-date=September 27, 2024 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==References== {{Include-NASA}} {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{commons category-inline}} * {{Cite web |date=May 2018 |title=Jack D. Fischer Biography |url=https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/fischer-jack.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224103330/https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/fischer-jack.pdf |archive-date=February 24, 2024 |access-date=January 21, 2021 |publisher=NASA }} * {{Cite web |title=Astronaut biography: Jack Fischer |url=http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/fischer_jack.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430164202/http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/fischer_jack.htm |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |access-date=September 5, 2017 |website=spacefacts.de }} *{{Twitter | id= Astro2fish | name=Jack Fischer }} * {{cite web |url=https://spaceref.com/uncategorized/a-passion-for-space/ |title=A Passion for Space |last=Fischer |first=Jack D. |date=June 23, 2009 |website=spaceref.com |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240927195852/https://spaceref.com/uncategorized/a-passion-for-space/ |archive-date=September 27, 2024 |url-status=live }}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Jack D.}} Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:People from Louisville, Colorado Category:United States Air Force Academy alumni Category:MIT School of Engineering alumni Category:U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni Category:United States Air Force astronauts Category:United States Air Force officers Category:American test pilots Category:American aerospace engineers Category:Aviators from Colorado Category:Crew members of the International Space Station Category:Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Category:Spacewalkers Category:Military personnel from Colorado